Gatomon and Veemon, Eternal Memory, Pain and Love
by The Forgotten Dragon
Summary: Another Digimon romantic adventure fic, written by a sad little VeeGato fan, please have a look, this is my first and I need some experience, thank you! It does NOT shy away from painful or sometimes gory descriptions btw, darker and edgier than the anime
1. Chapter 1 Prelude to Despair

Hello, everyone.

This is my first ever fanfic and I am strangely a VeeGato fan, so I wrote this for fun. If you hate VeeGato, please don't flame me. I mixed that bit of romance with some adventure inspirations I came up with. As this is my first try, it won't be as good as some of your professionals. So advices are always welcome, but please don't pointlessly insult or flame.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Prelude of Despair

Veemon slowly opened his eyes, but he noticed something strange. He felt too dizzy to look, and after what seemed like several minutes, he opened his dreamy eyes and saw that he was tied up against a stone cross. Suddenly alert, he woke up and looked around, from what his reptilian eyes allow him to see, he was in the centre of a room made out of pure smooth and flawless obsidian like stone. The room was quite big, so big that he could not see the walls but the floor and ceiling. Other than the cross made out of the same material as the room which Veemon was tied against, the room was empty.

Veemon struggled vigorously to be free, the mysterious bands that were tied around his wrists and ankles were translucent and did not even seem corporeal, even so, they did not move even a tiny bit against Veemon's tenacious struggle.

Finally, he gave up and slumped down panting.

"Why struggle?" asked a voice, Veemon looked up and saw a figure walking out of the shadows of the corners of the room, Veemon cannot see another other than a dark shape, "Why struggle against yourself? It may have been good reason to seal you away but wiping your own memory to escape the guilt is just shameful." the voice was undoubtedly masculine, and it sounded so familiar to Veemon, but he never met this "one" before.

"Who are you? Why am I here? Where is this place?" Veemon asked desperately.

"Do you want to know?" the figure replied, "If you do then you would already know the answer."

"Stop speaking in riddles!"

The figure lifted his hand and opened his palm towards the cross. Black lightning burst through the cross and electrocuted Veemon.

"ARGHH!!!" Veemon cried out in pain, "Stop!!" he said, struggling to speak without biting his tongue with against the electric tremor, "Why are you doing this? AAAHHHH!!!"

"So you truly don't know... I am sad to hear that." the figure did not stop the torture, but spoke in a ever so calm tone, "This is going to be a whole lot harder than I thought."

The ethereal bands around Veemon's limbs disappeared and dropped him hard against the floor. He is grateful that the electrocution has stopped, but the mind-breaking pain has not yet subsided and he could not stop shaking. The figure walked towards Veemon.

"Look at you, so weak and vulnerable, lying by my feet at my mercy." the figure said, with a tint of pity in his voice, "Where did you go?" Veemon watched in horror as a long pale blade appeared from the figures sleeve, it was a ceremonial blade, decorated to the extreme with digi-gems, with beautiful digi-runes carved into the flat of the blade.

"This is but the first steps we will need to take, my friend." the figure lifted the blade up with the tip pointing downward towards Veemon. "It is step beyond rational possibility, but a step we must take never the less."

Veemon tried to get up, but his body was drained of strength, he couldn't move at all. All he could do was watch in horror as the shadowy figure brought the sharp blade down upon his chest.

***

"HELP ME!!!" Veemon shouted as he suddenly shot out of Davis's bed, scaring the hell out of Davis. Sweat drops the size of almond nuts dropped from his head, and when he realized that it was all just a bad dream, he was ashamed to find out that he was crying too.

"JEEZ!!! Veemon!!!" Davis exclaimed, he put his hand on Veemon's head and said, "What kind of dream could scare _you_ like this? You are sweating like you have been running for miles non-stop!"

"I'm sorry, Davis." Said Veemon, panting.

"There is no need to be sorry, but I have never seen you jump out of your bed because of a nightmare before."

"OK, basically, I dreamt of being tortured and executed by this guy who don't even talk normally."

"Ish... freaky."

"It is not the first time I dreamt of someone killing me, but the helplessness I felt." Veemon was surprised he can remember the dream so clearly. "And the loneliness and sorrow I felt in the room, it was so depressing."

"Are you sure you are OK? Want some milk or something?"

"It's OK. It's just, the pain... it felt so real." Veemon was still quite shaken, he touched his chest, and let out a breath of relief as there wasn't a hole or gash there or something, he looked down, and choked on that breath he just let out when he saw bruised marks around his wrist and ankles. "Actually no, I'm not OK. I will go and stay at the living room, so I don't keep you awake."

Davis looked at the clock with sleepy eyes, it was 5:40 in the morning, "I will be getting up in about two hours, so I'm not that bothered, but if you need me, just tap on the door."

"Thanks, Davis." Veemon walked out of the room and laid down on the sofa, he looked at the marks on his wrists again, and he didn't dare to close his eyes. He sat there for half an hour just thinking about the dream, then sleep slowly took its toll on him.

Veemon lay on the many cushions on the sofa, comfortably asleep. The moonshine from the windows gave his blue skin a glowing tint: a beautiful shine, yet an ominous looking shade.

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Kind of spoils it a bit but being a reader, we all know that it was more than just a normal nightmare.

Thanks for reading, I will be doing more.

Review please!!! Thank you!!! And no flaming!


	2. Chapter 2 Good Start to a Day?

Thanks for reading!

I have decided to mix romance with adventure, so the romance part will be quite comical while the adventure part is the violent part. Some of the romance parts may contain some sex jokes or description not suitable for children, which is why this is rated T or M.

Enjoy! And review please! Thanks!

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Chapter 2: Good Start to a Day?

Veemon got up at seven, he did not get much sleep since the nightmare, but he decided to forget about the nightmare and put himself in a good mood by having an early hot shower.

"Mmm... I love hot water." Veemon relaxed and closed his eyes as warm water poured onto his white belly. He loved showers, especially when there isn't Jun or Davis shouting for him to hurry up, "I only take an hour or so, humans are always so rushed."

He went through the memories of the past few months in his head. He did not have time to think about this when MaloMyotismon was around, but now that the bad guy has been hopefully deleted once and for all, Veemon thought about Gatomon. He loved seeing her walk, her soft white fur ruffling in the wind. He loved listening to her talk, her voice sounded as if she was singing all the time. Veemon blushed, he wished he could spend more time with her, but as courageous as he was when fighting evil digimons, this was one battle Veemon could not stand up to.

First, there is the problem of Patamon, if Gatomon loved someone, everyone would expect it to be Patamon. _Angemon_ and _Angewomon_, Veemon thought, _so stangely ironic it is almost a pun_. Secondly, Veemon cannot bring himself to open his mouth in-front of Gatomon, his heart and mind maybe, but the digimon of courage was evidently not equipped with the courage for girlfriends. And lastly, what if she gets rejects him, even if she does so politely, Veemon knows that he will most likely be ashamed and heart-broken (if digimons have hearts that is) for the rest of his digi-life.

Getting away from the worries, he dreamt with himself dancing with Gatomon, both of them, graceful as anything, gliding through space and time, to the happiness beyond. Then he remembered that when Davis and Biyomon tried to teach him how to dance, he spent more time standing on their toes than actually dancing.

He opened his eyes and looked down, then blushed furiously when he saw his exposed privates, he quickly covered his crotch with his hands, although no one was looking. His face flushed with blood, he couldn't believe that he went hard just by thinking about Gatomon.

Veemon walked out of the bathroom, still half wet. It is a bit passed eight, he was about to call Davis up when he realized that it was Saturday, but he walked into his room anyway, and was surprised to see that he was awake. Davis was sitting in-front of his computer, playing some new video game he borrowed from Izzy.

"Hey, Davis, what are you doing?" he asked, and hopped onto a chair next to Davis.

"Morning, Veemon, feeling better?" Davis asked, never taking his eye off the screen.

"Fine, thanks, mind if I watch?"

"No, but you might regret it."

Veemon looked at the screen; apparently Davis is controlling some guy wearing a hoodie running around a town jumping up and down buildings faster than most digimon. Veemon didn't understand much, but he did know that this guy was definitely not human. He kept running up buildings, jumped over fifty feet high into the air and easily out ran traffic, all of a sudden, lots of soldiers started firing at him.

"Hey, that's not very nice." Veemon said, "Why are they shooting at you?"

"You want to know?" replied Davis, then he pressed a button and the guy's right arm transformed into some kind of long, spiky appendage.

"Whoa, that was cool, what kind of digimon is h...!" Veemon's jaw dropped as he watched the guy's right arm stretched in to a grotesque 10 metre long tentacle and swiped across the street, cutting well over a dozen people in half at the waist, he turned to Davis and saw him smirking!

"Davis! That is gross!"

Davis turned round to look at him with an evil look, and then turned to the screen again and pressed a button. The guy's right arm then transformed into a huge, double ended, intimidating blade. Veemon watched in horror as Davis commanded him to grab someone, lifting the person up with ease. He then chopped the person in half vertically and Veemon almost threw up as he saw tentacles coming out the guy's body and absorbed the dead body.

"Davis, stop him! He is too powerful, if he bio-merges, we won't be able to stop him!!" Veemon tugged at Davis's sleeve frantically.

"Ha-ha, calm down Veemon." Davis laughed at him, "it is only a video game, and it is not designed like you. Oh, watch this!"

Veemon ran out of the room as quickly as possible when he saw Davis transformed the guy's arms into two huge, gory claws and grabbed some unfortunate person's head with it. He flinched when he heard a scream and a sickening crunch.

"Man, I am never playing computer games with Davis again." Veemon exclaimed, quite disturbed by the fact that Davis enjoyed that type video games.

"This is not the first time I heard that said." Mrs. Motomiya said, "Jun eve asked me to chuck his video games out after she saw some of those gross video games he plays." She walked over to Davis's PS3 and picked up a game called "Destroy All Humans 2", "Teenagers these days." She sighed, shaking her head.

"Good morning, Mrs. Motomiya." Said Veemon.

"I heard you had a bad dream, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking."

"Ever so polite, eh? You are so adorable; I wish my son was a bit more like you."

Veemon blushed at being praised; he walked into the dining room and went to the fridge to get a cup of milk, and sat on a chair and waited while Mrs. Motomiya prepared dinner.

**At the Kamiya's:**

"AGUMON!!! WAKE UP!!!"

"WHAA!!!!" Agumon sat up in Tai's bed, "Oww!!! Thanks! I am now deaf!"

"It is nine in the morning, we are all prepared and ready to go and you are still sleeping like pig!" cried Gatomon in his face.

"Hey, it is not nice to compare me with Patamon." Agumon joked, and got a smack on the head for it.

"Get up! Now!" Gatomon demanded.

"Or what?"

Gatomon aimed her claw at Agumon, he joked: "You don't scare me, sis..." Upon hearing this, Gatomon moved her aim to the lower parts of his body, "Whoa! Whoa! I was joking! Chill! What the heck put your tail in a knot?"

Agumon jumped off the bed and walked towards the bathroom, "With that type of morning temper, I would like to see when you get a boy friend."

"Oh? Well, you can talk!" Gatomon retorted, "At least I am not some loser who hasn't got a life and hogs the TV watching Soap and ads all day!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Gatomon sat on the bed; she wondered why she was in such a steamy mood. She wasn't actually angry, but more like hyperactive. Perhaps she is way too excited about the fun they are about to have today.

Agumon burst through the bathroom and said: "I'm ready."

"You haven't even been there for a minut...!" Gatomon gaped as she saw Agumon standing next to the bathroom, soaking wet with bubbles all over his body.

"Did you just dunk yourself into the bath with an entire bottle of bubble foam and came out without even washing your mouth."

"Wow, you read me like a book."

Gatomon walked up to Agumon.

"Uh oh..." said Agumon when he saw the look of murder in her eyes.

Gatomon picked him up by the legs and dragged him into the bathroom, with Agumon desperately clawing the floor and screamed as if he was being dragged off to his death.

The next scene was censored as heart-wrenching screams can he heard inside the bathroom along with brutal scrubbing sounds and also the screams as nearly-boiling-ho-twater was poured onto someone. Struggling was audible, which stopped when sounds of smacking, kicking, punching and scratching that will make the audience cringe was heard. Then Gatomon appeared out of the bathroom, holding the leg of which appears to be a shiningly-clean but semi-conscious Agumon.

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Once again, thank you for reading. And if you don't know which game I was talking about at the beginning of this chapter, you really need to find out and play the game, it is frigging awesome.

Review please!!! Thank you!!! And no flaming!


	3. Chapter 3 A Not So Secretive Secret

Right, Chapter 3

To those of you, who are still reading this, thank you for your support.

Enjoy

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Chapter 3: A Not So Secretive Secret

The door bell suddenly rang, Jun and Mrs. Motomiya did not seem bothered and continued to eat their breakfast, but Veemon and Davis turned and looked at the door, wondering who it could be this early in the morning. Veemon hopped down the chair, holding a piece of toast in his mouth. He walked to the door and opened it, but there was no one there. Veemon closed the door and turned round, _Pranksters!,_ he thought.

As Veemon walked back towards the table, chewing on his toast vigorously, the door bell rang again. Once again, Jun and Mrs. Motomiya did not even move their heads.

"I'll get them!" said Davis as he ran to the door as fast as he can.

"SURPRISE!!!!!" Davis nearly had a heart attack when he opened the door and was shouted in the face by whole loads of people.

"WHAA!!" Davis exclaimed as he fell to the floor, standing in the narrow door way were T.K., Tai, Izzy, Matt, Sora, Yolei, Cody, Ken, Joe, Kari and all their Digimons. "Don't do that!!! I could die you know!"

"Oh, please don't tell me you don't know why they are here." Said Jun happily, then Mrs. Motomiya said "Happy 15th birthday Davis!"

Both Davis and Veemon froze for a second, and then Davis laughed, "Oh! I actually forgot my own birthday! Ha-ha!"

"How typical of you, Davis." Said Kari, and everyone laughed.

"We got presents!" said Yolei, everybody, even the digimons, lifted nicely wrapped present boxes.

"That... That is _so_ nice of you guys, I... I don't know what else to say." Said Davis.

"Hey, don't forget us!" said Jun as both she and Mrs. Motomiya lifted up two boxes which the two of them have hid carefully underneath the table. "But you ain't opening it until you come back!"

"Come back?" Davis was confused.

Tai waved a load of tickets in his face, and said "Guess where we are going?"

Davis read the ticket, and cried "Naotatsu Theme Parks?! Thanks guys, you are the best!"

"What are you waiting? Get dressed!" Ken hurried him.

"I won't be a minute!" Davis said as he ran into his room to get dressed.

Veemon was embarrassed and ashamed; he couldn't believe that he forgot his partner's birthday, and now while Davis has a hill of presents, he forgot to buy Davis one. But Veemon was determined to make it up to him, somehow.

Davis burst out of his room in his trademark white shirt, black jacket, brown pants and the goggles on his head. "I'm ready!"

Veemon followed him to the door with Jun; Veemon had wandered why she got dressed so early.

"Have fun, children." Mrs. Motomiya said.

"Bye!"

**On the Bus:**

"Davis?" Veemon asked, he was quite uncertain what to say.

"Hmm?" Davis turned around to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Davis. I forgot this was your birthday, and I didn't get you a present." Said Veemon, he was feeling quite guilty, "I know I should feel ashamed that I even forgot my own partner's birthday... "

Davis smacked him on the head.

"Ow...I guess I deserved that."

"Hey, listen." Davis said as he lifted Veemon's head up so he could look into his eyes, "You are the best thing that ever happened to me, OK? Having you around is as good a present as any. So don't sulk about it and enjoy the day with me."

That put a smile on Veemon's face, he nodded happily.

**At the Theme Park:**

The kids walked into the park, despite digimons being quite common now days, it was still an unusual site to see so many digimons and their partners together.

"I'm sorry guys, but would you mind if I excuse myself with Sora for a bit?" the group didn't say anything, so Sora and Matt walked off along with Biyomon and Gabumon, leaving the rest of the group giggling amongst themselves.

The first thing that immediately cheered Veemon up was the ice cream van directly up ahead, it was a hot and sunny Summer day, what better time for ice cream?

"ICE CREAM!" cried Veemon as he ran towards the van; he was an absolute sucker for ice cream. Davis shook his head; the rest of the group followed him and bought everybody an ice cream.

As Veemon sat on a bench to enjoy his little desert, the rest of the group went to look for anything interesting. He was surprised when someone else hopped onto the bench, and he was even more surprised when he saw that it was Gatomon looking at him with an ice cream in her hands.

Veemon blushed when he realised that he had never been alone and so close with her before, he asked hesitantly: "Um... Hey, how are you? Agumon is not giving you a hard time is he?"

Upon hearing that, Gatomon remembered the little episode this morning and laughed, "Well... heh-heh, you should ask him that yourself." Veemon chuckled too.

_That was a good start,_ Gatomon thought, _But how can I actually break it to him that I... uh... I like him a bit more than normal?_

"You know that... I...uh...I..." Veemon said with shaking arms, he thought _Say it, damn it! Say the word, it is not that hard! Say it, or would you rather kill another MaloMyotismon?_

Gatomon shivered, _Is he going to say it?,_ she wondered, _Or is it just my wishful thinking?_

Veemon saw Kari and Davis sitting next to each other on the roller coaster as it soared and flipped in the air, the two of them screaming in joy as the thrill took them, they look so happy together. He gulped, and said: "Gatomon, I think I um... I think I...really...!"

"What did you say?"

"I think I really..." said Veemon out loud, _Say it! you coward!,_ he told himself.

"You think you what?"

"I THINK I REALLY LOV..." Veemon gasped, "ICE CREAM!"

"Well... I can certain see that." Replied Gatomon, a bit shaken from his weird behaviour.

_Why am I such a loser?,_ thought Veemon, he felt his face has gone really hot, and was suddenly very embarrassed when he realized the fact the Gatomon can most certainly see his red face. He slapped himself in the forehead, only then did he realise that he did so with the hand holding the ice cream.

Gatomon laughed out loud when she saw the ridiculous sight of Veemon's blue face covered in white and pink ice cream. Veemon turned round to look at Gatomon, which caused her to laugh even more. He did not try to wipe the ice cream off, for he enjoys making her laugh, even if it means making a fool of himself.

Gatomon suddenly put her face up against his, Veemon was surprised and he blushed furiously when Gatomon licked his face. "Is she just trying to get the ice cream? Or does she actually... No way, that's just wishful thinking on my part." He closed his eyes when she licked his little spiky snout; he opened his eyes to a blushed Gatomon staring at him in the eye, "Does she really feel the same way about me as I do with her?"

'Snap', the camera clicked, which surprised them both. They looked towards a bush and saw Jun sitting there with a camera in her hand, "Aww... that was _so_ cute! Everyone has to see this!" With that, she ran off with the camera to where all the other friends were standing in a queue for a ride.

"Hey! No!" Veemon jumped off the bench and went chasing after Jun, while Gatomon remained sitting, giggling to herself.

By the time Veemon got there, Jun and all the friends were already looking at the photo and giggling at it. When Davis and some others saw Veemon running at them with ice cream all over his face, they laughed so hard, they almost fell over.

Veemon stood there, panting and blushed; he smiled and laughed along with everybody. He has not been so happy for he can't remember how long. He felt Gatomon's claws under his hand, and together they walked away to find some ride they can go on.

Veemon looked at Gatomon, he thought that she was _so_ much more beautiful than he is and he could not even hope to gain her heart, but there she was, holding his hand and walking with him in a theme park as if they were on a date. Gatomon stopped abruptly; she turned round to look at him, and pointed, "The digimon of courage, heh? Prove it to me."

Veemon looked at where she was pointing and saw it: it was monolithic; two thirty metre tall steel poles were connected by one long steel bar twenty metres away from each other. Another roughly 25 metre long steel bar was connected to this one in the middle, at the end of that long steel bar, was a single seat. This would then act as a swing that doesn't stop when you get to a certain height. It keeps going round and back in a circle with a diameter of fifty metres. He watched someone screaming on the ride as it threw itself up in the air and down the other way; Veemon's initial confidence disappeared as he watched the guy get off and threw up on the ground.

"Oh, boy." Veemon thought, "And I thought fighting other digimons was the only thing that required courage."

Not wanting to show signs of fear in-front of Gatomon, Veemon walked himself towards the ride.

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B.T.W. Naotatsu Park and that ride are all just my imagination, sorry to say.

And also, personally, I would die of a heart attack if I ever got on a ride like that, even though I am still a teenager.

Review please!!! Thank you!!! And no flaming!


	4. Chapter 4 Deja Vu

Hello, again!

I am on a roll today, finishing three chapters straight!

Enjoy

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**Chapter 4: Déjà Vu**

Veemon tied himself against the seat and readied himself for the coming "onslaught". He had quite a hard time convincing the man to let him onto the ride, as he was way below the minimum height. And if he digi-evolved to ExVeemon he would not fit in the seat, much to his despair. But in the end, he told the man that even if he fell, he would not be hurt. For the sake of him being a digimon, the man reluctantly let Veemon onto the ride.

Veemon looked around, he saw Gatomon with an evil grin on her face, along with Davis, Kari and a few of the others watching. There were also quite a few children watching him, and they are looked quite frightened, if anything.

The moment came, the machine started clanking. The steel bar connecting the two poles started spinning, which caused the next bar connecting the swing to go back and forth. It all sounded a bit strangely monstrous…

_This is quite nice, actually, _Veemonthought; as he flew back and forth through the air, it felt like just any other swing, well, bigger.

Then, with a sudden rise in the noise generated by the machine, the steel bar suddenly jerked, sending the unsuspecting Veemon flying up thirty metres in his seat. He was totally unprepared for the thrust and couldn't help but let out a scream. Then the swing dropped back down, the sense of zero-gravity took hold, and that really did make Veemon feel nauseous.

The swing suddenly swung back again, pushing Veemon's face against the on-rushing wind that battered into his unsuspecting body. He let out another embarrassing scream, but this time, the swing reached the top and did not drop back the way it came, instead, it went over the top and came back down in a full curve.

The adrenaline kicked in at that mind blowing moment, the nauseating feeling in Veemon's stomach turned into some kind of thrill; the overwhelming sense of helplessness became somewhat pleasurable. The swing went around once again, Veemon has totally lost the sense of direction and weight, he felt like being sucked into a vacuum again and shot out and being sucked back in again… well, that was a pretty bad description of it but um...

Air was baffled in and out of his lungs without him being able to control it. Surprisingly, Veemon enjoyed it; there is no point in opening his eyes, as everything just appears a blur. It was an indescribable feeling, an adrenaline fuelled euphoria that pitted himself against the crushing air resistance.

Veemon opened his eyes, and he froze. He was no longer in his seat, and around him was not a theme park, but a grey and barren wasteland, dying fires burnt in places… this has been a battle field, but what the heck?

Veemon smacked his head, just to make sure he weren't hallucinating, but no, he saw what he saw.

One thing that did not go away was the nauseous feeling of being repeatedly spun around; he looked down and gasped when he saw his body disintegrating into a whirlpool of data. Veemon panicked, he struggled and fumbled for anything to grab as he felt immobilized.

With a closer look, however, Veemon discovered that it was in fact the magical cistern of data forming his body, not destroying it. _This is beginning to get weird…_ Veemon looked around desperately for any clues, anything to tell him what the heck was going on! But all he saw was him, the cloaked figure from the room.

"Familiar?" he asked.

"WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!"

"When you were born, you were a miracle… " He hesitated slightly when saying this, as if choking on his own words, a strange action, if anything. The figure lowered himself to Veemon's level and stared at him in the eye; Veemon could see the long dark patternless cloak the figure was wearing, it covered the entirety of his body, except for the eyes.

They were penetrating eyes, eyes filled energy and a burning sense of beastly fierceness in them, yet they were old eyes, wise and enigmatic, just by staring back at them Veemon felt like he knew so much about this person's character. There was something so awfully familiar about him...

"When you were born, you brought the hope that none had for so long." The figure continued speaking, "The data and wishes of so many, heart and soul combined. You were perfect!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Veemon snapped, he was rapidly losing patience with this person's strange ranting, "How do you expect me to understand what you are saying if you keep speaking in riddles. Let me go!" At that moment, Veemon swear he saw the hint of a tear in the figure's eyes.

_He is crying? What? Why?_

"The hope you brought soon gave many the bravery which they have lost it so long ago." The figure looked down and said, "But friendship does not exist without enmity, kindness cannot be recognized without cruelty. Hope... brought despair." Something about his tone was not right, it was as if he was trying to speak without any emotions, but somewhat failing at it, "You know, everything has a purpose. What was yours?"

"Why do you care?!" cried Veemon in anger and frustration, he just wanted to go, but that was clearly impossible, so he replied: "I deleted MaloMyotismon, THAT was my purpose!"

"Why you? Don't you ever wonder?" the figure spoke in the same tone still, "Was it redemption? A better purpose perhaps? Think about it; think about your _real_ purpose, was it saving the world?"

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" cried Veemon as he pushed the cloaked figure over, this conversation was giving him a splitting headache, it hurt! It just somehow hurt so badly! "You are not even making any sense! Leave me alone! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

Veemon struggled against the current of data and tried to desperately break out of this prison of his consciousness. He tried to concentrate on something else, memories, any memory, just keep thinking! Keep thinking! Everybody's faces washed through his head, he just wanted to forget but it wasn't working! The pain was just getting worse, his whole world was beginning to buzz and ring!

Veemon kicked and grappled desperate for anything and he charged forward again and again as hard as he could.

He shouted desperately as he threw himself forward one last time: "LET ME GO!"

"FLASH"

Gatomon gasped in horror as she saw Veemon enter some kind of seizure and shivered violently in the seat, he burst out of the saddle while it was at the highest point and charged straight into midair. She ran towards him as fast as she could but not before he landed on the concrete floor on his front side… hard.

"VEEMON!" she cried out as she ran to his side, followed closely by Davis, Kari and several others. Davis picked Veemon up and said, "Veemon, are you OK? Say something, anything, please!"

Veemon opened his eyes slowly, he was not physically hurt all that badly though, but his head felt so dizzy, he could almost swear that someone mashed his brains up. "I'm fine." He said, "Just find me somewhere to rest. Seriously, I'm not hurt all that bad, please don't let me spoil your day."

"Don't be stupid, your safety is more important."

"Look, I can walk." Veemon hopped out of Davis's arms and ran around in a few circles and returned, "I just need somewhere to sit down for a second, honestly, I just need to clear my mind."

"But I want to know what happened to you! You suddenly passed out and the next minute you nearly committed suicide." Davis was not at all convinced, "If you insist, I will buy you an ice cream and get you somewhere to lie down."

"I _like_ that idea." Veemon smile, he keeps seeing whirly patterns, the symptom was beyond dizziness.

**A bit later:**

Veemon lay on a bench snugly while holding a huge cone of ice cream, a smug smile on his face as he enjoyed his treat to no ends. Gatomon sat by his side, she stroked his arms gently, but in his trance like state, Veemon did not seem to notice. The pain in his head has subsided though; it seems that ice cream is a good digi-hallucination cure.

Kari smiled and whispered to Davis, "Come on, Davis. Veemon is in good hands." Davis looked at her and got her meaning, he walked away after waving a smile at Veemon.

"I'm sorry." Gatomon said with her head down, "My stupid bet got you hurt so badly."

"Don't worry, Gatomon." Veemon surprised her by replying, "It was actually quite fun."

"Stopping joking around when you are hurt like this!" Gatomon lightly smacked Veemon on the chest with her paw, it was quite gentle.

"Oww!" Veemon cried out in pain, he obviously faked it, but it fooled Gatomon…

"Sorry! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"He-he, I was just joking!"

"Why you little..." Gatomon raised a paw at Veemon.

"Don't hit me! I might die!" Veemon flinched slightly and closed his eyes, pretending to wince at the prospect of being hit. Gatomon sighed and put her paw down to stroke his face.

"Looks like I am going to have to guard over you for the rest of today." She said.

"Well, that's a shame. I was looking forward to going on more rides with you."

Gatomon shook her head, "You can be so dumb sometimes, you really need to care about yourself a bit more."

Veemon suddenly shot up straight and started hungrily munching down massive mouthfuls of ice cream. Then he paused and looked at Gatomon's surprised face, an evil thought ran through his head.

"Well, I ain't about to waste the rest of Davis's birth because of some silly ride accident, so... the fun begins now!" as he said that, Veemon smacked the rest of ice cream into Gatomon's face and began laughing like no tomorrow.

Gatomon wiped the gooey stuff away from her eyes and growled, "Oh! You will get that back!" She got up and tackled Veemon, who have already jumped out of the hut and taunted: "Catch me if you can!" before running off into the park and waited for her to chase him.

The two ran and ran, knocking several people over as they laughed as they went, it was the best fun they had in ages.

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Thank you for reading!

I have tried to make the couple look cute and funny together, so if you don't like romance and find it boring, just move on to the adventure parts.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	5. Chapter 5 End of the Good Times

Hello!

Thanks for the reviews by the way; it is good to know that my work is being viewed.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 5: End of the Good Times

Several hours later, it was Gatomon's turn to lie on the bench, she was panting and sweating after hours of non-stop running and joy riding. While Veemon was out looking for some more fun looking things, Kari came and sat by Gatomon.

"What do you think of him?" Kari asked.

"Veemon? Well, he is cute when he is naive; he is brave, but often foolish; and being a male, he is hot-headed and a bit dumb; overall, I think he is fun to be with. "

"Well, then, what about Patamon?"

"Patamon? Why do you ask?"

"It's just... you know... you have known Patamon three years before Veemon, and I am only guessing by the way, but I would have thought that Patamon has some feeling for you."

Gatomon suddenly felt a bit guilty, since coming out today, she hasn't even spent very much time with anyone except Veemon. "Wait a minute, why are you telling me this? Don't get me wrong, not that I don't like your advices, but, why?"

"Well, me and Davis has saw how much you care for Veemon, and you might notice that I am in quite a triangle myself at the moment, so, I don't want anybody to be hurt. Say, why don't you talk to Patamon about what he thinks first."

Gatomon thought for a moment and said: "Where is everybody else?"

"Having a picnic down by the 'Octopus' ride." Kari replied.

"Would you mind staying here until Veemon comes back? Just to tell him that I have gone to look for the other."

"OK."

Gatomon ran towards a group of people sitting on a small patch of grass, where a dozen kids and digimon were eating and laughing with each other. The sunshine that fell through the trees landed directly on them, the scene was beautiful. Gatomon walked towards them, Tai turned round and saw her first.

"Come and join us!" Tai said with a cup of iced lemon coke, "And where is Veemon and Kari."

"You know, there is something I find interesting." Izzy said, all of a sudden, "Human love is driven by hormonal impulses to find an attractive mate and being attractive at the same time, while as with less intelligent animals, they are just driven by the need to mate and carry on their genes."

Everyone turned round to look at Izzy awkwardly.

"What? I was just wondering which category does digimons belong to. Digimons don't have hormones, but they are much more intelligent than most mammals, so..."

"Izzy...what the heck?" Joe interrupted, with some sign of being disturbed by Izzy's revelations.

"Alright, just wondering." Izzy replied, seemingly not bothered by the little scenario he caused.

Gatomon shook that unnecessary bit of information out of her head and walked into the group; she sat next to Patamon and put her paw on his. Patamon, who was busy enjoying a cheese sandwich, stopped eating and turned round to look at her.

"Patamon, I need to ask you a few things." Gatomon said in a low voice.

"Feel free to ask, I will always be here to help." Patamon replied cheerily.

"Do you like me?"

Patamon blushed, "Well, of course. And I know what you are going to say." He put the sandwich down and looked at her, "I like you of course, perhaps not as much as everyone else expects me to, but hey, I'm happy if you are happy."

"That is so nice of you Patamon, but you know... I don't like making decisions; I need one of you to break it to me. I don't want anyone to be hurt or anything..."

Patamon got the idea of "one of you", he said "I have never thought about these things when there were so many other things to do, if you like me, then of course I am glad to be with you. But if you feel you are happier with 'someone else', I am not upset. Hey, who knows how many other digi-hotties are out there, I am quite the digi-lady's mon you know?"

Gatomon laughed along with Patamon, she was glad that Patamon was not upset, but she have kind of guessed that this would be what Patamon would say to her, it didn't really make her feel any less guilty. Maybe as a way to get away from that feeling, Gatomon decided to spend the last few hours of the day with everyone here.

**Back at the Motomiya's:**

Happy times always pass so quickly, back at Davis's house; Mrs. Motomiya had a gigantic cake waiting for them in the middle of the table. Everyone talked and laughed, and it was very entertaining to watch Davis tearing through the pile of presents like a wolf who hasn't eaten for weeks.

The presents opened, the cake devoured and the time was after eleven at night.

It was such a happy day.

Everyone got up and started to walk towards the door, Veemon, Davis and his family followed.

"Well, happy birthday, Davis!" everyone said as they walked out.

"Thank you _so _much guys, I have never _ever_ had so much fun before!" Davis replied, shining with happiness.

"You are welcome, see you later!" With that, everyone walked away.

Gatomon turned around and saw Veemon standing next to Davis in the doorway, she thought for a moment, and made the decision. She dashed back, much to everyone's surprise, and kissed Veemon on the lips. Without being able to help it, both of them turned red. She backed off for a breath, embarrassed, she turned her face away and ran down the stairs before anyone can follow.

Veemon stood there, stun and awed, _Well, that was unexpected_, he thought to himself. He looked at the group who were smiling as they went down the stairs, and he saw Patamon with the biggest and the kindest grin. Veemon smiled back, as Patamon gave him a thumb up, he realized that it was Patamon that encouraged Gatomon to kiss him.

**A Few Hours Later:**

Veemon insisted that he stay in the living room by himself, for he feared that he will have another nightmare. Which was a shame, he has been in such a good mood today, he doesn't know what he could see in the dream and to be honest he doesn't want to either. In the end, he decided to stay awake.

He thought about these strange hallucinations, was it something to do with what happened before he was sealed away? He had also wanted to know why he was sealed away in the first place, everyone else just presumed that he was too powerful and it was safer to wait until he was needed, but Veemon always thought there was a bit more to it.

"When you were born, you were a miracle."

That line keeps ringing through his head, _I was born_, he thought, _how is it a miracle, don't we just hatch from our eggs?_ He did not understand, conundrums were never Veemon's speciality, but talking about riddles, um... who else other than Gennai was the person to ask. Well, that's what he will be doing tomorrow!

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Sorry this chapter has been kind of boring, it will get interesting soon.

Review please!!! Thank you!!! And no flaming!


	6. Chapter 6 Shattered Memories

Hello!

The adventure parts start now, thanks for reading this far.

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**Chapter 6: Shattered Memories**

"So you wonder if Gennai can give you some explanation on what you have been dreaming about." Davis sat on the bed and asked while looking down on a swaying, barely-standing, half asleep Veemon.

"Yes, and I don't think I will be back today." Veemon replied with half open eyes, it seemed like that stay up all night after a full day of all-out partying wasn't such a good idea after all, although he was glad he had no nightmares.

"Hey! Listen!" Davis put his hands on Veemon's shoulders and gave the little fella a good shaking, much to Veemon's displeasure, but it did wake him up, a little bit. "You know how I feel about letting you go to the digi-world on your own. Every time we separate from each other in the digi-world, we always end up getting in some sort of trouble."

"I know. But I can't wait another day." Veemon replied sombrely, he had only experienced two hallucinations, but the way that "thing" talks scared the hell out of him, there have not been many things to do that to the digimon of courage.

"Then, how about I cancel my training for today and come with you." Davis did hesitate before making the offer, there will be a major inter-school soccer competition coming up and every training session was needed. Not that Davis really cared about the school's glory or anything, but it was his chance to show off to Kari.

"Are you sure?" Veemon knew how sacrificing this offer could be for Davis, but in all honesty, Veemon would love for Davis to come along.

"I guess so. I would not want a mentally ill friend because of me trying to impress my (unofficial) girlfriend now, would I?" Davis replied, sounding surprisingly cheery about it.

"Davis! You are the best friend ever!" Veemon pounced on Davis, knocking him over on the bed with a "Friendly Vee-Tackle". Davis laughed and hugged Veemon, he said: "As soon as we finish breakfast, I will phone T.K. to tell the people that I won't be coming, and then we will be off." Veemon nodded happily; at least he won't be half asleep _and_ alone.

**An Hour Later:**

_Digi-port, open!_

The two of them were back to the familiar forest environment of the digi-world. Veemon always liked it here; the leafy trees smelt better than the huge concrete ones in Odaiba.

"Now we are in the digital world, we can find out where Gennai is using our digi-vices. Talking about that, do you know why he has refused to communicate with us from the real world or laptops?" Davis got out the digi-vice and started trying to track down Gennai's ever shifting home.

"I don't know." Veemon replied, it seems like that sniffing some of Jun's ultra-strong perfume woke him up quite a bit, "But I have a feeling that it's got something to do with these dreams."

"There we go; he is down in the lake not too far from here." Davis said when he found the flashing red dot he had tried to look for on the digi-vice.

"What is with Gennai and living underwater?" asked Veemon curiously, not that he was really looking for an answer, Veemon didn't ever expect to understand a human who chose to live in the digi-world for more than he can remember (which isn't actually very long).

**Another Hour or so Later:**

"Well, here it is, underneath the lake somewhere." Davis pointed at the mirror-like calm water and said, if you didn't have the digi-vices to track him down, heck you would never ever guess where his hideout is.

Davis started to send out digi-signals through the digi-vice while Veemon waited for Gennai's house appear out of the water with its unnecessarily epic entrance. Veemon walked around the shore, waiting for anything to happen, but after ten minutes of waiting without a result, he began losing his patience. Veemon picked up a pebble and chucked it into the middle of the lake, the pebble bounced off the surface of the water several times, creating a wave that broke the undisturbed surface of the water. As the pebble sank to the bottom of the lake to join the many other pebbles there, a stream of light rushed out of the lake and charged towards Davis and Veemon.

"Wh...What is that?" Davis pointed at the blinding light as it drew closer and closer.

"I don't know but I think it wants us!" yelled Veemon as the light enveloped the two of them, with a fuzzy tickling sensation, they both lost consciousness.

**In Gennai's House, "Somewhere" in the Digi-World:**

Veemon opened his eyes and saw the wooden ceiling of Gennai's house, he was lying in something that feels very much like a bed, and it was threatening to send him back to sleep again with its comforts.

"So, at least one of you is awake." Veemon turned round to see Gennai sitting on the floor not far from him enjoying a nice cup of Japanese herbal tea.

Veemon turned to his right and saw Davis lying in another bed next to him and snoring like thunder, it isn't going to be possible to wake Davis from his "Unstoppable Sleep Mode" without him being alarmed of any sort of danger.

"Davis! Davis! Davis!" Veemon tried to shake him awake, although he failed miserably. He sighed and readied a punch on Davis's head.

"No, let him sleep. I know what you are here for and I'd rather he not hear it." Veemon turned round to look at Gennai. Look at Veemon's face when he jumped and nearly screamed out loud when he saw a fifty year older Gennai sitting at the table, it is as if he have just aged in seconds.

"Did I scare you? I'm sorry; I also apologize for the way I took you both here. It is not safe for me to show myself openly anymore, not even through electric communication." Gennai's body flashed with images of data before he returned to his younger self. "You see me here, Pietmon from so long ago implanted a curse in me for me to age rapidly, that curse was subdued when the first Digi-destined defeated him. But now, something else is back, and it is connected to what you wish to know."

"Kari...Kari..." moaned Davis in his sleep, Veemon shook his head and walked towards Gennai, who is once again flashing with data and his own image shifting between a middle-aged man and a nearly-centurion. The sight was creepy, it was surprising that Gennai can still talk in that same, calm tune.

"Is it to do with what happened before I got sealed away?" Veemon asked nervously, something told him that this was the wrong thing to ask and he will live to regret it.

"Yes, very much so, in fact, it is more to do with you than anyone else." Gennai replied, he seems to be hiding something.

Veemon gulped, he did not totally understand what he was so nervous about, he said: "Then tell me about it."

Gennai did not even hesitate when he said: "No."

Silence followed for the next few second, "If it is about me, don't you think I have to right to know!" Veemon's voice was a mixture between angry frustration and nervous fear.

"You have the right to know, oh yes. But you should not." Gennai replied, he is definitely trying to hide something big.

"But you know what is happening, tell me! You know this is important, I have got to know!" When Gennai did not reply, Veemon sat down to calm himself a bit and asked, "Fine, then tell me why I should not know, or at least how to get rid of these nightmares."

"Why shouldn't you know? When I was amongst my colleagues choosing the digimons who will eventually become the partners of the Digi-destined, we knew about you, heh-heh, you were quite the favourite too." Gennai let out a heartily chuckle, and continued: "Until I found out that you were not just any digimon born from an egg, you were... (Gennai paused for a moment, realizing that he was about to reveal too much) just too different. So we left you where the digi-world decided to keep you sealed away, and believe me I was quite frightened of you when I saw you free."

Veemon sat on the floor; he did not understand it at all. These "answers" were only adding more cloud on the riddle itself.

"And the nightmares I am afraid I cannot help you, all I know of it is that these dreams are caused by a separate and conscious being, you have to stop him if you want it to stop. And how to do that? Well... I have no idea."

Veemon sat on the floor helpless, he did not get any of the answers he had hoped to get, instead, he only has more unanswerable questions. This was not working out, not at all. Veemon was partially seething with frustration, partially afraid of what is to come. He turned round to see Davis waking up, and said, "OK, then, one last question. What is so dangerous that even you have refused to come out into the open?"

"I am only doing so because they are targeting me specifically to get information about... (Gennai hesitated once again) about...you." Gennai managed to put together an answer, and it was clear that he was unwilling to give out even that one bit of information.

"..." Veemon sat in silence. _About me, so this whole thing is about me,_ he felt sick with the revelation, "I want to go, I need time to think."

"As you wish."

A column of light appeared underneath Davis and Veemon, with a bright flash, the two of them were gone.

Gennai looked around his empty house and sighed, he knew far more than he told, for what reason?

"Come out, they are gone."

From one corner of the wooden house, the cloaked figure strode out of the shadows. "You should have told him." The figure said in a demanding voice.

Gennai turned around, suddenly very annoyed, "If you want to continue on your ill-prepared _reunion_, count me out." He stood up and looked the figure in the face, "You should realize how irrational you are being by torturing him like you are. You have to reveal the truth!"

"MY TRUTH!" the figure shouted in Gennai's face, equally seething with rage, "IS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN!"

With that, he turned round and walked back a few steps before disappearing into thin air. Gennai stood there; he sighed and sat back down, pondering in deep thought.

**Somewhere in the Digital World:**

Davis looked at the silent Veemon, whatever he missed out during his sleep (which he is quite annoyed about) has shaken Veemon greatly, "Hey." He poked him in the arm, "what's wrong, buddy?"

"I still don't understand why he won't tell me, why is he refusing to help?" Veemon muttered under his breath, the visit has indeed not been very pleasant.

"Whatever is going on, we will get over it together." Davis put his hands on Veemon's shoulders, "We have been through so much before, and this will be no exception."

Veemon twitched, he felt it, and when Davis looked another way, he realise that Davis sensed it too.

They both looked at the gust of wind that rushed towards them; it was a very strong gust of wind, quite unusual for the forestry area around here. But it was not just any wind, it was a ghastly black wind, a chilling touch of air that feels like the breath of decay itself, as the wind rushed on, it seems to absorb the very colour of matters around them.

Veemon stood up, something was not right, and he knew it all too well. Davis stood up too, he took out the digi-vice and got ready for battle, for some reason he just knew it was going to be a battle. The wind howled past them, bashing harshly against Veemon's eyelids, forcing him to close his eyes into a tiny slit, Davis did the same thing, this wind... it was...just _not right_.

They both heard a spine-chilling groan as it echoed across the dense forest, nine bolts of darkness flew across the sky before them and smashed into the ground with a gigantic puff of smoke. Both Davis and Veemon had to cover their nose, eyes and mouth to stop the dust from getting in them. As the debris cleared, they saw it.

Nine nether-worldly beings walked towards them, they were identical: they were all garbed in a hooded robe; the robes looked as if it was made out of a single piece of cloth, they were so black it was as if they were a part of shadow itself; they all had their heads down, never looking up, not even to where they are going; they all had their arms folded across their sternum, each arm tucked into the others sleeve; but the most disturbing of it all, was the fact that there was just no way to see their body, their silence surrounded them like a concrete wall, shadowing every bright colour of the world, just looking at them made Veemon feel so indescribably... empty.

"Who are you?!" Veemon shouted out loud, his voice barely audible against the howl of the wind.

"We are..." the robed beings replied all at the same time in a echoing monotone as they advanced towards the two with steps performed at the exact same time and exact same distance, "...the Dark Ones."

"The Shadowed Ones."

Veemon and Davis stepped back as they figures continued their robotic march.

"We are the Ancient Ones."

They walked on.

"The Forgotten Ones."

They walked ever so quietly as one.

"We are the Forsaken Ones."

Veemon and Davis set themselves ready for whatever was about to come.

"The Cursed Ones."

The beings stopped and stood in an arrow shaped formation, with one in the lead and two behind it, with two more behind that one. They all raised their arms up and connected their hands and spoke in a higher tone, as if a chant.

"We were banished for our desires, our only goal we had, and we were deserted and left out of memory, to forever suffer a death worse than death itself. But yet we prevailed..." the beings spoke on, all at the same time, the same voice, the same thoughts, "... what we have sought so long ago lies before us."

At that same time, blinding purple lights shot out through the beings hands and formed a web around them, energy surged through the area as if there have just been a massive explosion! It was so powerful, several trees around them were rooted out of the ground and both Veemon and Davis were sent flying backwards.

"BRETHRENS!" The robed beings suddenly roared with their deafening, echoing and spine-chilling voice in unison, "THE TIME FOR WAITING...IS OVER!"

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Sorry this chapter took such a long time, but I hope it was worth the wait.

Thank you for reading, there will be more to come.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	7. Chapter 7 Calling for Blood

Hello!

Continuing from last chapter's cliff-hanger ending, there will be more and more violence and a bit less romance, sorry to say. Gatomon has her own separate story line though.

Read on!

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**Chapter 7: Calling of Blood**

The nine wraith-like beings stood still, not even flinching from the force of the energy surge. Veemon looked at them, and his instinct has told him that these nine "things" were undoubtedly hostile, and his first reaction was to test their strength.

_Let's see what powers they have,_ he thought. Veemon dashed forward towards the nine figures still standing in their strange energy-channelling formation, it was a foolish thing to do, but Veemon wanted to know at least what they can do.

Five metres away from the group, Veemon thrust himself into the air with great force and readied a powerful punch as he dived down from the sky, he aimed at the leading figure and tensed up to dodge any counter attack at the first moment.

Their distance closed rapidly, but none of the group even fidgeted at the sight of Veemon charging at them.

"CLASH!" Veemon's punch connected, burning pain shot up his bleeding knuckles and up his arm as if he had just punched a brick wall. Resisting the pain as best as he could, he looked up at the robed beings, he has indeed punched into an invisible wall around them!

"Veemon! Your hand!" cried Davis urgently from behind; the blast has hurt him quite badly.

Veemon looked down at his hand; he was absolutely terrified to see pieces of data flying out of his slowly disintegrating fingers. He struggled hard to yank his hand free, but the invisible force field just kept pulling him in!

Davis ran up to Veemon and wrapped his arms around Veemon's chest, also giving all he got to free Veemon from this monstrous wall. At that moment, all the beings lowered their arms by a fraction and thrust them outwards, the shining purple web of energy around them burst forward in an unstoppable wave of burning destruction, obliterating trees, rocks and even soil as the power-wave pushed along like a thunderous hurricane.

"VEEMON!" cried out Davis as he was sent flying through the air, so helpless in the maelstrom of energy, he couldn't even control his flailing limbs.

"DAVIS!" Veemon was equally helpless again the onslaught, he tried to control where he was going... he tried and tried and tried but it was just too much for him! The two of them were pushed one way and another in the violent cataclysm like fragile dolls abandoned to the wind! Total darkness was all too soon to follow.

**The Visions:**

Veemon struggled to open his eyes, his eyelids felt as if they were made out of lead, a sensation that has become unfortunately far too familiar. He panicked, _where is Davis?_ He thought, looking around, there is nothing but pitch black darkness, his reptilian eyes only allowing him to see not much more than a metre or so. He laid his head down to the side as he felt unable to move any of his muscles; energy itself seems to have left his weak body. From the corner of Veemon's vision, he saw blood. The sight did not frighten him, well, until he realized that the blood was his own.

He gasped as he found out that he was lying in a pool of his own blood, and when he struggled to sit up but only to be pushed back by a world of pain, Veemon wished that he never looked down:

He was literally pinned to the floor with the ceremonial sword (the one he saw in his first dream) impaling him through the chest, the mirroring surface of the pale blade reflecting his pathetic and defeated gesture as he lay on the floor. It was a wound that he couldn't have possibly survived, _this is a dream,_ he thought, _but why... why... the pain is so real!_

Then, in the dim twilight of his reduced vision, he saw the figure again. This time, Veemon was not going to wait for him to speak, "Tell me...who are you?! Why are you... doing this?!" He struggled to keep the sentences together against the surges of pain, "TELL ME!"

"...I'm sorry..." that was the last reply Veemon expected to hear from this person, "I am so sorry... I wish... you do not have to suffer like this... but I cannot..." This was the first time Veemon ever heard excessive emotion from this mysterious character. He sounded truly sorry, for there was the undoubted sense of sorrow in his voice, it was as if he was going to cry, but his body is somehow stopping him from doing so.

Veemon tried to ignore the pain, the pain that should normally send him to the cold embrace of death and rebirth, but not here, the unbearable pain that threatens his very foundation of sanity itself. He shook his head as cold sweat showered down his neck.

"Please, let me finish this." The figure walked towards Veemon as he held up his hand and opened his palm, "Just, endure!"

"Aargh!" Veemon yelled out in pain as the sword vibrated and the digi-runes carved into the flat of the blade begun the wriggle and shine, it shook ever so violently as the runes started moving, it was as if they have come alive. Veemon clenched his fist hard, what has he done to deserve to be tortured like this? He looked up and resisted the temptation to scream as the runes slowly crawled down the side of the blade and into his body through the bleeding gash on his chest.

**Somewhere in the Digital World:**

Davis crawled on all fours; he took a hit in the head from a thick branch that was sent flying through the air due to the energy explosion caused by the nine robed beings. He was bleeding all over from similar wounds, but although in pain, he managed just barely to stay awake.

"Veemon?" his voice so quiet as Davis struggled to keep enough air in his lungs to breath. Around him, a good proportion of the dense woodland area was gone, replaced by a gigantic crater as if some giant use a trowel to dig a piece of this land up. In this brown wasteland, Davis spotted the tiny bit of blue.

"Veemon!" he cried out as he stood up with the last reserve of his energy and ran to his friend, only to collapse a few steps away when his leg went totally numb. "Veemon... are you alright?" Davis watched anxiously as Veemon's body begun to jerk and twitch as if out of control.

**In Veemon's Head:**

_Where am I now?_ Veemon thought to himself, he couldn't feel himself anymore, he couldn't even move his vision, it felt as if he has become a part of air itself, floating and drifting with the wind.

"NO!... I WILL NOT..." cried an all too familiar voice, "HE IS JUST... CHILD..."

_Hmm?_ Veemon saw a series of blurry images before him; he could hear distorted voices that he could not make any sense out of, but it was clear that there was a very unhappy debate going on.

"All must contribute...our chance...we need...we will do whatever needed." These broken voices came from another group.

"YOU WILL NOT!" The first voice shouted out loud, the sounds of a fierce battle was heard immediately afterwards, it was vicious, there were explosions after explosions, punches and kicked deflecting off each other and the familiar sound of the V-Laser, it sounded as if that one digimon was greatly outnumbered by others, Veemon couldn't help but fear for his fate.

After several minutes of deadly combat, he heard someone's exhausted and injured body fall to the floor.

That person muttered quietly with his last breath: "I'm... sorry..."

And all was silent.

Veemon's visions flashed again, this time more violently than ever. Thoughts that were not his own raced through his head while sights and sounds that he could not hear rang through his mind, the strange sensation was giving him a great headache, it buzzed on and on and on, driving Veemon to the limits of his mental endurance, just as he threatened to explode inside his head, it stopped.

Veemon felt his body or at least someone's body, he looked down and looked it, but it was an ExVeemon's body, and something was not right. It didn't... feel the same. He looked around and held his breath as he saw a dozen ExVeemons around him, a sight that he has never imagined to see. Veemon was so happy at first, because he thought that he wasn't actually the last of his kind, but that happiness quickly faded away when he realised that the ExVeemons were trying to surround him, and they were in battle stance.

"I order...comply...or we...force." the voice from the leading ExVeemon was once again broken and distorted, being barely audible, it was like listening to a radio with very bad static interference.

Veemon felt his "body" jerk forward, the ExVeemons took an intimidated step back, _they are afraid of me_, he thought, _but why?_

His question was quickly answered, the ExVeemon Veemon is inside right now jumped up high into the air and pounced on that one who just spoke, Veemon stared in disbelief as he pulled his blood soaked talons out of the dead ExVeemon's neck before he faded to the wind as data, _I just killed... one of my own?_

_I... I did not just do that..._

The rest of the ExVeemons attacked him at once; Veemon's body dodged the lasers easily. He rolled to the side and dashed forward in the blink of an eye, and raised his hand against another ExVeemon.

_No! Stop!_

That ExVeemon fell to the floor with a splatter of gore and dissipating data, Veemon's body turned round with a powerful swing kick that swiped three other ExVeemons across the stomach and knocked them metres back, killing two of them in the process.

_What am I doing? Stop! Stop it!_

_"This is what you were made for."_ Another voice rang through Veemon's head, _"This is what you are best at."_ The voice seemed to laugh as Veemon's body killed two other ExVeemons with his fists.

_No! NO! This is not me! STOP!_

_"This is what you were best at; this is what you _are_ best at."_ The voice continued saying, Veemon's body bit into yet another ExVeemon's neck, he killed one after another, claws rending and fangs tearing, accumulated blood flowed across the ground in rivers.

Veemon stared with absolute terror at the carnage brought down by himself, the voice continued speaking: "_You were _so_ perfect! Oh yes, you were._"

Veemon saw the last ExVeemon laying on his stomach on the floor, totally incapacitated, his body walked towards him.

_No... NO! STOP! STOP! STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!_

_"You were..." _he drew closer to the injured warrior.

"T_he ultimate..._" the crippled fighter lifted his head up to look Veemon in the face, his eyes burned with both hatred and anger.

_No..._

_"KILLING MACHINE!"_ Veemon's body brought his foot down and crushed his head mercilessly, hot crimson blood splattered across his face, he tasted it, in his mouth.

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

**Somewhere in the Digital World:**

Davis fumbled for his digi-vice, he was glad he did not drop it during his fall. The nine robed being found him, and they were walking towards him.

_Oh, what a mess I'm in now._Davis thought as he looked back and forth between the Veemon now in a seizure of fits and between the nine deathly monsters rapidly advancing towards them, their appearance so resembling that of a grim reaper.

_Do something, or you both die, do something!_Davis thought of anything, running away or activating the digi-portal, but he couldn't, with what little strength he had left, he was barely conscious and breathing, he closed his eyes and urged his body to move, so desperate to do something he was actually crying.

Veemon suddenly let out a scream of anger and despair, he shot up off the ground with hot tears streaming down his face, never before has Davis seen such a savage look on Veemon, and he was frightened, there is definitely something horribly wrong with him.

A burst of red light exploded from Veemon's body, he howled with the most horrifying sound Davis ever heard in his life. He felt something sizzle in his hands, Davis looked down and saw the digi-vice smoking, data flew across the screen with unreadable blurs, it shook so violently in his hands, Davis accidently dropped it.

_He is... digivolving?_ Davis couldn't believe what he saw, Veemon's body shifted and expanded, inside the light, Davis made out the shape of an ExVeemon, he let out a sigh of relief, falsely believing it to be a sign of hope.

And what did he see before him.

Davis froze, he has heard of Apocalymon, attacked Kimeramon and defeated MaloMyotismon, but never has he been so afraid before.

Standing in front of him, was an ExVeemon, but it was not his ExVeemon.

What was might have been an ExVeemon stood there, where his body was blue, it is now a bright blood crimson; where his body was white, it is now charcoal black. Many more horns and spikes protruded from this ExVeemon's head, arms and tail. The talons on his hands and feet become huge and shining sharp, its gleam hungry for blood.

Davis held his breath at the monstrous sight, _this is not Veemon,_ he thought, _this is not my Veemon._

The nine robed beings stood there all the time, watching, quiet as statues, devoid of all emotion.

The Blood Burst ExVeemon let out another deafening roar, the powerful sound waves made the ground itself vibrate, it looked at the nine standing there with its berserked eye, it's blood-flushed, irisless eye, and charged at them.

No, this was not Veemon.

This was a monster, a beast, a motivation sealed away so long ago, and evidently, for very good reasons.

* * *

To any of you who have a hard time imagining what Blood Burst ExVee looks like, check my avatar, I know, it's cheesy, but I love PhotoShop, so I decided to make my favourite digimon look evil, hope you like it.

Well there you go, another nice cliff-hanger, hope you like it too.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	8. Chapter 8 Malevolence Reawakened

Hello!

Continued on from yet another cliff hanger, if you can't imagine what Veemon now looks like, check my personally modified evil ultra-badass version of ExVeemon on my avatar.

Also, I am referring to ExVeemon as "The ExVeemon" because that this is not the "real" ExVeemon.

Read On!

* * *

**Chapter 8: Malevolence Reawakened**

The blood-thirsty ExVeemon charged at the nine with the power of a steam train, his claws denting and cracking the earth underneath his feet. He lowered his head and aimed the gleaming horns hungrily at the enemies, their distance closing in by the second.

The nine lifted their arms up once again, creating the impregnable purple barrier in front of them quickly, they were ready, and they were waiting for the deadly impact.

Davis waited, the few seconds and heart beats in between the actions seemed to feel like hours.

With a loud "BANG!" the ExVeemon's horns smashed into the purple barrier, his horns sank in and drilled three holes into the wall and purple energy immediately started to leak out of the hole into the air.

The nine beings seemed to have tensed up, their arms raised higher, the barrier became brighter than ever. It was slowly pushing the ExVeemon back!

But he was not about to give up, with another thunderous roar, he pushed his head forward, grinding rock and soil into mud underneath his feet. The holes in the barrier seemed to open up wider and smaller hole opened around it, it looked just like a panel of glass under pressure that is about to burst any moment.

The nine beings tried ever harder to stop his advance.

And in return, the ExVeemon pushed himself against the power more, he groaned in pain as Davis looked and saw that the ExVeemon's horns were slowly fracturing and disappearing as data, fear clenched into knots in Davis's stomach.

Finally, the purple barrier shattered with a deafening "CRACK!" and bullets of energy flew all over the place. Davis ducked immediately, covering his head in the process. The ExVeemon was not so lucky; he was showered with the shrapnel of the barrier, small bleeding holes appeared all over his body, the pain keeping him down on his knees as he struggled to get back up again.

Around him, the nine robed beings have scattered themselves around the crater, they have dodged the out-break of energy with ease, their arms once again folded across their stomach.

"This is mine, leave me." Said one of the nine, the other eight looked at him simultaneously, then stood up, their heads lifted up to look at the sky, and exploded into bolts of living shadow, which flew across the sky to disappear over the horizon.

The Blood Burst ExVeemon turned his full attention to the one and only, his eyes focused on his target, ready to move as soon as needed.

"I am what dwell in the hearts of all being, I am what define the meaning of bravery, I am both the balance and judge of valour. What am I?" the being spoke a riddle, it was clearly pointless, but he recited his ominous lines patiently.

From behind his back, an orb of darkness appeared, from the nothingness of the orb's oblivion came a sword. It flew out of its source and materialized in the air, followed by another identical sword, with yet another one after it.

Five swords flew behind the beings back, they were all identical two handed, double edged blades. The swords elongated tips pointed outwards, with their pommel pointing inwards towards the orb of darkness; together they spun behind his back like a five-pointed star, shining with an eerie green sheen. The blade cannot look any sharper than it already is; digi-runes were carved all over the blade and hilt in odd and irregular fashions. But the sword did not look graceful as it should, just its mere sight reflects its twisted nature, its eagerness to tear through flesh and bone, this was the instrument of destruction and nothing else.

"Fear." The being said, "I am the Five Blades of Fear, and I will strike that very emotion into your heart with the pain that you cannot imagine in your worst nightmare." As it finished speaking, the five swords from his back lunged forward and slashed down towards the ExVeemon.

He jumped to the side, managing to evade the blades just barely. He looked back, the swords came at him again, getting ready to dodge, he looked at the being for a second, and it was just standing there! It did not even look at the ExVeemon but attacked him with the swords with shocking precision and speed!

The five swords flew up into the air and pointed down at ExVeemon from all angles; they were trying to flank and impale him. ExVeemon saw that coming, without the energy barrier, he could now easily get pass to sword to charge and kill that robed thing, this was his plan.

The blades dived down and ExVeemon timed the moment to jump away...3...the swords whistled through the air...2...their gleam was blinding in the midday sun...1...now!

The ExVeemon leaped to one side, the blades clanked against each other as they sank deep into the ground, Davis looked at the formation of the half buried swords and cringed to imagine what the ExVeemon's remains would have looked like if he didn't dodge it.

The chance is now! Charge him! The ExVeemon ran towards the being at full strength, ready to beat the thing into a bloody pulp!

But it suddenly tripped with a cry of pain, Davis looked for what was wrong, and he saw it. The sword may not have skewered the ExVeemon, but with such deadly accuracy it has cut both of the ExVeemon's hamstrings and Achilles' tendons. Blood streamed from the wounds, barely visible against the equally red shade of the ExVeemon's skin.

The being walked towards the crippled ExVeemon, its five swords hovering and spinning above its head as if some form of demonic antenna. The ExVeemon was immobilized on the floor. He tried to crawl, but only wasted his effort as he could not efficiently drag the rest of his body behind him. The ExVeemon looked at the being and let out a challenging roar; he will not accept defeat anyhow.

Davis looked at his digi-vice, he knew he _had_ to do something; he cannot leave his friend at that _thing_'s mercy. He had to do something, but what? What? What can he do? _Think, damn it! Think!_Davis was totally out of ideas, if he just charged out there, he would die, and it was far too late to call for help, what can he do?!

It was as if he had shouted his thoughts out loud, the being stopped in its walk to the ExVeemon and turned around to stare at Davis. _Uh oh_, he swallowed as the being started to run towards him. His first instinct was to run, and he was happy to obey that.

The five swords sank into the ground and bulges appeared in the soil as the swords swam towards Davis from underground. He stood up and ran as blades protruded from the ground where he was laying. Adrenaline fuelled his legs with the energy he didn't believe he had left, he ran straight ahead, not even looking at where he was going, just trying to buy some time for... for ANYTHING to happen!

Davis looked up and saw the ExVeemon up ahead; his innate suffering was almost visible to the bare eye! He stopped by the ExVeemon's side and laid the shining digi-vice on the wounds, trying to transfer the data needed to mend the broken flesh.

The connection was made, and data slowly streamed out of the digi-vice to form the severed muscles in the ExVeemon's legs, the wound was healing but _far_ too slowly,

The now bloodied ExVeemon looked at Davis curiously, a yellow pupil slowly returning to his eyes. He tensed up and lifted his arm.

"Waahh!" the air was beat out of Davis's lungs when the ExVeemon swatted him to the side as two blades flew through the air and landed where Davis was.

Apparently frustrated and lost patience at how long the battle took, the being redirected his attention to the ExVeemon again; it leaped and landed in front of his head. One of the swords lifted itself high up into the air and aimed at the ExVeemon's neck, he struggled to move and tried to push himself up on his arms, only to scream out in pain as he felt two swords sink themselves deep into and through his shoulder blades.

The sword readied itself; the battered ExVeemon closed his eyes as he waited for the final moment to come. Davis have only just got back up and ran to his friend as fast as he could, he was feeling sick with fear and desperation, he wasn't going to make it there in time, he knew it all too well.

...

The sword came down in a flash, at the same time when a bright light appeared between the two, it was all too soon when Davis heard the crunch of bone as steel struck against flesh.

He stopped, stood there frozen; the reality did not sink into his head. _This is just a nightmare, right?_ He could not... he _would_ not believe that his life-time friend was gone. He screamed, "VEEMON!" Tears flowed uncontrollably down his face; this was just too much for him to take!

The light disappeared, and there in place of it, was not the ExVeemon's severed head, but Gennai.

The old man stood there in an awkward position, there was an orb of light was in his left hand, and similar orbs appeared around four of the five swords, apparently binding them from any sort of movement. The last sword, which was going to behead the ExVeemon on the floor, has engraved itself deep into Gennai's right palm. Blood flowed down his arm as he tried to keep control of all five of the sword.

Gennai appeared in the nick of time to stop the sword, but even so, he did not have the opportunity to stop the last blade without harming himself. The being bent over slightly as he strained to move his swords, and in response, Gennai clenched his teeth and wrenched his arms as if to grab something out of thin air. The being strained even more and so did Gennai, with one last effort with every muscle in his body, Gennai threw the invisible force to the side and all five swords shattered into pieces.

Gennai stood there panting, ignoring the pain in his right hand, he said: "Ever so tenacious, aren't you."

"Hmph..." the shards of the blades withdrew back into the orb of darkness behind the beings back, and it said, "Count yourself lucky, next time we meet, only one of us will live to see the next day." With that, it exploded into a puff of dust and smoke and became another bolt of shadow that flew across the sky to who knows where.

Red light flashed out of the ExVeemon's body to reveal a broken and totally beaten up unconscious Veemon on the ground. The various holes and gashes all over his body are now clearly visible against his blue skin, Davis gasped at the number of them.

Gennai was still breathing heavily; he looked down and walked away.

"Gennai! Wait! I need to ask you something!" Davis shouted after him, Gennai didn't even turn round before disappearing into a column of light.

Davis collapsed, he felt dizzy as he crawled towards Veemon. He picked his maimed friend up, wincing with tears in his eyes at how horrifically the little blue dragon had been mutilated. He threatened to pass out, but not before activating the digi-portal back to the human world first. As light once again enveloped the two of them, Davis laid his head down and welcomed the takeover of total blackness.

**In Gennai's House;**

Gennai sat on the floor, using both medical equipments and excess data to mend his injury. Across from where he sat, the cloaked figure also sat with his head down, a gesture showing both his sorrow and shame.

Gennai finished wrapping bandages around his palm; his image was that of a middle-aged man again. He stood up and paced around the room several times in extreme annoyance.

Gennai angrily kicked a wooden stool over onto the floor before quickly walking towards the figure and picking him up by the collar of his cloak.

He shouted at his hidden face: "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

The figure was limp and silent; he dropped back down, and muttered in a quiet voice, "Something that I will regret for the rest of my existence, but also something that I should have done... a long time ago."

* * *

Phew... that was hard to write...

Did you think ExVeemon was dead? Even for a moment? Well, I would feel pretty good if I managed to scare you, even for a moment!

Thanks for reading; the next chapter is about Gatomon by the way.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	9. Chapter 9 The Uninvited

Hello!

This chapter starts a bit before eight of the nine from the last time vanished, where did they go? You wonder, well, you are about the find out at least where one of them went.

Also, this chapter tells the story with Gatomon as the protagonist, it includes some Patamon moments later.

Read and Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Uninvited**

_"Muimi ni hashagu zawameki no naka..."_

Gatomon sat in the bath singing, enjoying the soaking of warm water and bubbles against her velvety white fur. Kari has locked herself in her room to force herself to do the homework which she had never had the determination to do; and Agumon was in the living room watching "Friends" with Japanese subtitles. Tai has gone to football training without him, because Agumon has been banned from the club. Last time Agumon played football, he got annoyed by the fact that he couldn't score a goal and used Pepper Breath on the goal and burnt a good proportion of the football pitch down, caused quite a bit of commotion afterwards.

Gatomon laughed to herself when she remembered the scene of Agumon running home with a few dozen angry soccer players chasing after him, when she told everyone else about it the next day, they all laughed until they nearly suffocated.

An image came into her head, as quick as a flash. It was Veemon's face when she kissed him, Gatomon blushed again; this was about the twentieth time Gatomon relived that moment in her head. It made her so happy, she didn't even know why.

There was one problem though, after what happened last night, Gatomon could not imagine herself meeting Veemon in a public place again. She could just imagine him and herself as two bashful digimons standing in front of each other frozen, staring at each other with their faces shining red and nothing coming to mind to say. Indeed if they did meet right now, that would be what will happen. She did not know how to confront him, and she didn't think he knew either; they would both be too embarrassed to talk.

Gatomon walked out of the tub and grabbed a towel; she walked into the living room as she wrapped herself comfortably in the towel and hopped onto the sofa to see what Agumon was watching. Apparently, it was about this man who is nearly having a mental break-down because someone at work stole and ate his sandwich.

"Good morning, sis." Agumon said, "I forgot to ask you, but what did the kiss feel like."

Gatomon twitched as she heard the question, "Why do you ask?" she couldn't, and didn't want to answer, "Besides, what makes you think that I will tell you."

"Well... I see it on TV just about every day; I can't help but wonder what is it that makes people want it so much."

"You know... these questions you should answer for yourself... Besides, I never wondered about these things before, why should you?" Gatomon tried to sound cool and contained.

"Why should I? As I said, I see of lot of this stuff on TV, and sometimes I see _a bit more_ than appropriate..."

"...Right..." Gatomon caught Agumon's meaning and she didn't want to know anymore, "I believe this is the bit that I slowly walk away..." Gatomon dropped off the sofa and walked towards the kitchen.

"GATOMON!" a scream came from Kari's room as she burst through the door, "I CANNOT DO THIS! Why are we learning about all these useless equation that we will forget as soon as we leave school and probably never even look at again, and they are boiling my brain!"

"So true... so true..." Agumon agreed with her, it is quite amazing the fact that Agumon never takes his eyes off the screen when talking _and_ listening to people at the same time.

Gatomon tried to think of something that would calm and please Kari, "Kari, why don't we go shopping together?" She said quickly.

"Shopping? Hmm... Sounds like a great idea. ...But... I have got to get these homeworks finished." Kari looked so exhausted, even though she only woke up two hours ago.

"Come on, it will help you relax." Gatomon walked up to Kari and looked at her sweetly, "When we get back, we will get Izzy to give you some help."

"Oh... thank you, Gatomon." Kari bent down and hugged Gatomon equally sweetly, "Give me a second to get ready." Kari walked back into her room to get changed.

Gatomon found her leather paw gloves and put them on, and then she went back to the bathroom to put the towel back, she wondered if she was going to buy something, something... for someone?

"Hey, Gatomon." Agumon called to her from the living room, "Mind if I come along?"

"Sure but why would you want to come shopping with two girls?" Gatomon was quite surprised when Agumon switched off the TV.

"Don't know; just don't want to stay home alone all day I guess." Agumon went to the front door to open it, "I will be downstairs waiting by the way." And walked out.

Kari came out of the room with her hand bag in one hand and keys in the other, she was in her usual pink and white top and yellow shorts, the digital camera never leaving her side. And of course there was the digi-vice on her belt. She smiled and pushed her hair back, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, Agumon is coming by the way." Gatomon told Kari as she walked out of the flat room and waited for Kari to lock the door.

"Agumon? Why would _he_ want to come shopping with us?" asked Kari curiously, but she didn't really mind another person's company though.

Gatomon shrugged and walked into the lift with her, she was thinking about what to buy for Veemon the next time they meet, something so that they will have a subject to talk about.

**In the Streets to the Shopping Mall:**

Gatomon walked down the streets still trying to answer her question, she just couldn't think of anything that is both meaningful but still original enough to give to Veemon. _Chocolate? Nah... That is way too old fashioned. He is not into the 'good for nothing but looks' stuff, so... Ahh! Why is this so hard?!_

Kari watched Gatomon with interest as they entered the massive glass-roofed shopping mall, she had quite accurately guessed Gatomon's problem and she might just have the solution to it. So she asked with a sly tone, "Thinking of something to buy for the lucky boyfriend?"

"What?! Ehh... What?!" Gatomon jumped at the unexpected question and was quite confused for a second until she realised that Kari has guessed her feelings, "Oh... well, do you know much about these stuff? I just don't think that I know how to talk to him normally again." Gatomon looked down at her feet, feeling embarrassed by her clumsiness.

"You know what? I have the perfect answer to your question." Kari said with a big kind smile on her face.

"You do?" Gatomon asked in disbelief, listing her head up to see Kari's grin, "No... You are just joking with me, aren't you?"

"I am not." Kari said as she put her hand into her handbag to find something, she was half way of pulling something out when they heard it.

"SMASH!"

Both of them jumped and looked towards the direction of the noise, there was a huge hole in the glass-roof of the shopping mall. Hails of glass shards fell down from the roof; people were screaming and running away from the sight as quickly as possible. The chaos was overwhelming.

Gatomon felt that something was not right, so did Agumon as she saw the muscles in his body tense up when he hurriedly ran out of a video game shop. Kari looked down as she heard her digi-vice started beeping, _it can't be,_ she thought, _there is a digimon? But how? How is that possible?_

When most of the people cleared from the area, the three of them saw it. Standing in the middle of wide corridor, hovering above the glass shard ridden floor was a robed creature with every bit of its body concealed behind it's robe, so whole and black as if a piece of pure darkness itself.

The thing hovered towards the trio, now the only people standing in the empty shopping mall. _It's coming for us,_ she thought, _and he doesn't look friendly_.

"So this is what he cared so much about." The robed being spoke, its voice chilling and emotionless, "This puts him at the disadvantage, how could a weak being like you control the mind of such greater entity like him."

"Who are you?" Gatomon shouted, "Answer me! And leave this place, you are not welcome!"

"Who am I? How long ago was it when I last heard someone ask me that? Not that I care." The being twitched its head slightly and started speaking again, "You stand there shining with light, but only with me can you be seen as you are. I am what is left in the absence of your brightness, a zone of black, strong but yet incorporeal. What am I?"

_What is he talking about?_ All three of them wondered.

"Darkness, I am the Thorns of the Foreboding Abyss, a banished element ignored by the mind. But I am not the passive observer, I am the awaiting hunter." With that, the thing walked towards the three, his speed too fast to be a walk, yet not fast enough to be a jog.

"He wants to fight. Get ready everybody." Agumon focused his attention on the seemingly normal creature walking towards them.

Gatomon did as he said; she stared at her opponent to watch his every move. Kari fidgeted next to her, Gatomon turned round to give her a reassuring look, Kari nodded back, not totally convinced about the Gatomon's confident prediction for the battle. Gatomon looked at the being again and charged at it.

"Lightning Paw!" she shouted as she thrust her sharp claws at the being's left arm.

"THRASH!"

"Gatomon! Are you ok?" cried a worried Kari behind her.

Gatomon gasped and jumped away as quickly and as far as possible, she landed and touched her face with her paw, there was a bleeding cut on her face, merely inches away from her eye.

All three of them stared at the being, shock freezing them in place. The creature was standing there in place as it did just before Gatomon attacked him, but seven thick, obsidian black, bone-like spikes protruded from the robed being's left side a split-second before Gatomon's attack made contact. Those spikes had the texture and looks of bones, but had the toughness and sharpness as polished steel, they remained jagged out of the being's body from many strange irregular angles, it was a creepy sight indeed.

The three of them gasped once again as the spikes slowly retracted back into the creature's body. The holes in the robes where the spikes came out of all closed perfectly as if nothing had ever happened to cause them to open in the first place.

"Pepper Breath!" it was Agumon's turn to attack.

The fire ball flew through the air towards the robed being. Once again, thick jagged spikes jumped out of the creature's chest and caught the fireball many metres away from its body. As the smoke died down, the creature still stood there, perfectly motionless.

_What in the name of Apocalymon is this thing?_ Gatomon felt fears that she has not felt for a long time, she did not have any confidence in the battle, because she had never known _anything _like this being before them.

"Kari, back off!" Gatomon said to Kari, that was a bad idea.

The being suddenly twitched it's head and looked at Kari before sending a massive long spike after her, the razor sharp tip soared through the air, eager to impale its target.

"Argh!" Kari cried our as she threw herself to the side to avoid the attack. Agumon quickly moved in front of Kari and looked at the now retracting spike; _lucky for that thing I can't digivolve, if Tai was here, I would crush him like a bug._ He looked at the hiding Gatomon and gave her a nod, she thought for a moment and nodded back.

1...2...3...now!

"Pepper Breath!"

"Lightning Paw!"

Gatomon jumped up behind the creature and readied a punch towards the back of his head, in front of him; a fireball flew towards his face. _Ha! Got you now!_ She thought triumphantly, it was not possible for him to deflect the fireball and dodge her attack at the same time.

The being did not move, not even a bit, it lifted its head slightly and with a loud bone wrenching noise, it seemed to have exploded with darkness!

"AGUMON! GATOMON!" Kari yelled out she saw roughly sixty thick tentacle like spikes burst forward through the beings body. It came out from anywhere and everywhere, arms, legs, heads and even the abdomen, the sight was absolutely grotesque.

Two long tentacles have got Agumon, one has stabbed him through an arm and the other cut him across his chest.

But Gatomon... she was just nowhere to be seen.

"GATOMON! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

* * *

Sorry about yet another cliff hanger, well, the evil digimon's attack on the real world, hope that surprised you a bit!

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	10. Chapter 10 First Blood

Hello!

As you have probably guessed by now, all nine of those things are super-heroes (or super-villains rather) with special powers, and this one is to sprawl spikes to skewer the enemy whenever and from whichever direction they attack it.

And don't worry, I am not going to kidnap Gatomon and make Veemon help her like a knight in shining armour.

* * *

**Chapter 10: First Blood**

"GATOMON!" worried sick about her fate, Kari waved her digi-vice in her hand frantically trying to find a clue as to where Gatomon was. She saw the shining dot but when she looked up, no one was there. Agumon was trying to stop his bleeding shoulder; he did not want to imagine what Gatomon would look like behind those spikes.

"Urmm..." Gatomon groaned quietly as she clung onto the railings of the second floor of the shopping mall, she felt cuts and burns everywhere, but they weren't serious. Looking down, no one knows where she is yet, _not even that thing_, she thought.

Gatomon kicked herself off the railing and did a 180 degree back flip as she dropped towards the ground head first and flew towards the robed bring.

"LIGHTNING PAW!"

She screamed out loud as she thrust her claws out as far as she could, her feat definitely surprised everyone watching!

The being turned around and sent out of barrage of spikes from his body again, their distance closing, she did not stop...

_Aim! I got him!_ Gatomon did not stop, not even as three spikes pierced her skin and cut deeper; she swung side ways to avoid them creating a serious wound and brought her claws down...

HARD!

The blades of her glove punctured into the being's head and created three deep gash as Gatomon dragged herself down, making the wound as big as possible. Gatomon jumped back in flips and stopped by Kari's side, and together they watched as data oozed from the creature.

Three large slits started from the back of the creature's head and extended all the way down to his feet. Black goo like data flushed out from the wounds, if it had been human, it would quickly bleed to death.

It fell on its knees, spikes retracting back into its body.

"You hurt me." It said, still in its same calm voice, it was an emotionless voice beyond normal reasoning; it was as if it wasn't even in pain.

Gatomon winced from the injuries on her body; she looked at both Kari and Agumon with equal concern. Kari was extreme anxious, up to the point where she is visibly trembling. Agumon's shoulder was completely pierced; he could not stop the vicious bleeding.

"When was the last time somebody hurt me?" the being stood up and limped slightly, "No matter, I will try and remember your names after I kill you." The data it "bled" sank down into the group, streaks of shadow and darkness extended towards the three of them standing there.

"RUN!" Agumon shouted as the streaks drew closer, Kari ran along with Gatomon while Agumon ran the other way. Behind them, the floor was decimated as spikes roughly half a metre in diameter burst out of the ground. It's sheer size was monstrous, but the number of them was terrifying. The spikes came up one after another, chasing violently after Kari and Gatomon; they ran as hard as they could to avoid a hideous fate. Behind them, bricks and concrete alike flew all over the place as the powerful spikes powdered the pavements.

Agumon looked back, he was not being chased, and he realized that the thing was specifically after Gatomon. _You ain't getting away with this!_

Agumon ran to the creature and feigned an attack, "Claw Attack!"

The figure extended an arm towards and shot its weapons at Agumon, but as Agumon did not actually attack, he quickly countered the attack by grabbing the spikes as it retracted.

_Now, you pay!_

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon sent a breath of flames into the gashes on the creature's back. It writhed as if in pain, more data oozed out and some disappeared, but his voice betrayed his reaction.

"Clever, but you have now put yourself in danger." Three spikes shot out of the being's elbow and hit Agumon full on, he couldn't even yell in pain as one of the spikes stabbed him below the sternum.

"The flaw in your tactic is that you did not have a retreat plan." The creature still talking as if in perfect control, "So now, you must pay the price of your mistake."

"Celestial Arrow!"

The white beam came and shot the being straight through the head!

But he turned round to look at the digivolved Angewomon! He treated the arrow that was stuck half way through his head like a regular injury, less so in fact!

"And you have just let your guard down." It said as the yet another spike erupted from the ground where Angewomon was floating upon, she was caught off guard by the sudden counter attack.

_How could he still be moving?!_ She turned round to look at Agumon, he was pitched on three spikes from the creature's right arm, _and I have to free him, somehow..._

"Angewomon!" Kari cried from behind her. _Oh no!_ Angewomon realized that in her flight, she had forgotten that Kari couldn't possibly keep up.

She turned round to see Kari tripping over, the stream of darkness slowly creeping up behind her.

"No you don't!" Angewomon shot one arrow after another at the robed creature still standing there, "Why won't you die! You revolting monster!"

Kari struggled to stand up with a skinned knee; she turned round and saw the black stream of death coming right for her.

"KARI!" Angewomon flew to her partner; she would even take the blow herself just to keep her partner from certain death, _if I die, I will be reborn, but Kari... I can't let that happen!_

Then from nowhere, she heard:

"Hand of Fate!"

Angemon burst through the ceiling, causing yet another great hole in the glass-roof. The bright yellow energy shot out from his hand and punched the being in the back once again, but this time... it was the final blow.

"Errrrhhhhh!" Every visible spike retracted back into its body, it started to tremble violently in uncontrollable fits!

But it laughed! Out of all things it can do, it laughed out loud with the first slight sign of emotion,

"Hehhehehe! Heehahahahaha! It has... hehahah...been so long! Hahaha! IT FEELS SO... HAHAHA... GOOD!" with one last echoing scream, the creature exploded. The force of the explosion shattered every glass window in the shopping mall. Hailstones of glass shards rained down at them, forcing Angewomon and Angemon to shield Kari and Agumon with their wings until the battering finally stopped.

Angewomon de-digivolved back into Gatomon, her ears were ringing from the impact and she felt sick from the shock. Kari stood up with her and ran to Agumon, who was being carried by Angemon at the moment, he didn't have a lot of wounds but the ones he had were quite serious. From one end of the shopping, they heard loud footsteps as T.K. ran in.

"Kari! Gatomon! How badly are you hurt?!" T.K. asked anxiously as he saw a bloodied Gatomon and Kari with various scratches and a skinned knee.

"Not too badly, but we need to go to the digital world as soon possible." Kari looked at Agumon with a hard frown, who is now unconscious from the blood loss, "the human doctors will not know how to treat a digimon. T.K, we need to find a computer now!"

Around the shopping mall, most of the computer they found was either broken from the explosion or had been short-circuited for some reason. When T.K. finally found a working computer, tiny bits of data was already flying out of Agumon.

_Tai is going to go mad when he hears about this,_ Gatomon thought as T.K. and Kari opened up the digi-portal and they were all sucked into the current before reappearing on the other side.

"Angemon, take Agumon and fly ahead, you need to do so as quickly as possible. We will catch on later." Gatomon told Angemon, who obeyed without hesitation.

_What is going on?_

**In the Hospital, a few hours later;**

"He'll get through, but what on earth did that to him?" A Renamon walked out of the examination room and said to the few who had been anxiously waiting, "Major blood loss, and thankfully only a little internal injury. But with the number of wounds on him, well, don't expect him to come out anytime soon."

Everyone let out a breath of relief. Gatomon was sitting in between Kari and Patamon, she was bandages in many places, and Kari wasn't much better off either. She turned to look at Patamon and said: "Thank you. But I forgot to ask, how did you find us."

"With the amount of noise from the shopping mall, I think people on the other side of town would have heard." Patamon replied with his "cheer up" smile on his face, "T.K. felt that something was wrong when his digi-vice shook, I am only happy that I made it there when I did."

"Believe me; this is on the news right now as we speak." T.K. added in to what Patamon said.

"Thank you... both of you, I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there." Gatomon looked down and sighed, she was quite shaken from the day and feeling nauseous as well, _Gennai is going to hear about this,_ she thought to herself.

Some noises interrupted her thoughts as the Renamon came back in and shouted for several other nurse and doctor digimons to follow, they immediately ran over to her and got ready for work.

Gatomon felt curious at the sudden stir, she jumped off the chair and asked the Renamon: "What's going on?"

"Oh... there's another one. Far more battered than your friend though, this one is going to have a tough time." The Renamon hurriedly replied as she walked towards the entrance.

Gatomon followed, something told her to.

In the afternoon sun that was still shining outside the entrance to the hospital, a stretch bed was carried in. It was a small person, Gatomon couldn't work what digimon it was.

Until she saw Davis.

He was walking into the room with a bandaged head and a dozen plasters on his arms and legs, he had a grave look on his face, a look that you don't normally see with the "happy go lucky" Davis. She looked into the stretch bed again, this time more clearly.

And her heart sank when she saw him, _Veemon?_ She couldn't believe her eyes, lying on the bed was Veemon but she could only barely see that. Because he was covered with so many bandages, he looked like a mummy. She could see his spiky little snout and bits of blue around his eyes, other than that there were only a few small patches of blue in between the bandages on his arms and legs, many of the bandages were also blood soaked.

She let out a breath of disbelief and stood where she was as the nurses carried the stretch bed past, _what?_ Was the only thought that came into her head.

"Gatomon?" Davis saw Gatomon and stopped to speak to her when he saw her state, "What happened to you?"

"I was attacked, along with Kari and Agumon. From what I can see, I guess you were the same." Gatomon replied sadly.

"Who were you attacked by?" Davis asked seriously, concern and worry filled his voice.

"Some robed monster that I couldn't tell was it a digimon or not, why? Was it the same with you?"

Davis nodded quietly and asked: "How's Kari and Agumon?"

"Kari has a few injuries, but nothing serious. Agumon, however, will be spending quite a bit of time in the hospital."

Davis nodded again, as if in relief. Gatomon saw him wince as he choked back tears at the same time, "Why did this happen? Why did all this happen now when I was not the least bit expecting it?"

Gatomon wanted to say something to make Davis feel better, she was good at that. But she was interrupted when she heard the heavy thumping of footsteps as Tai ran into the hospital.

He ran straight pass them and to the room where Agumon was, but a Piximon stopped him and said, "You must leave him for now. Waking him up during data transferring is dangerous."

"How is he?" Tai asked with dread in his voice.

"Don't worry, he is okay. But he will have to stay in the hospital for a long time." The Piximon turned to the rest of the group sitting down at the side and said: "You should return to your homes for now, he is in good hand."

"Kari! How are you?" Tai asked as soon as he saw the rest of the group, equally worried about the health of his little sister.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." She turned and was surprised to see a badly hurt Davis and Gatomon, "Oh, Davis! What are you..." she paused as she realised it, "the one that had just gone past us, was that..."

Gatomon nodded solemnly, silence filled the corridor for the next few minutes as everyone stayed frozen in their positions, listening to the sound of wind rustling against the leaves outside, and not quite sure on what are they going to do.

Finally, the Renamon doctor came out of the examination room and said: "What have you youngsters been up to, you children really need to be more careful." She said as she shook her head, "I haven't seen an injury like that for ages! It's going to take long hours to transfer all the data needed to mend the wounds, and before we can even do that we have to remove the dead and corrupt data from his wounds first. Now _that_, can take even longer."

"But how is he?" Davis asked, bracing himself for whatever answer he may get.

The Renamon took out a note book and read, "Countless external injuries such as burns and cuts, four major muscle damages, and moderate internal bleeding as something must have hit him with great force." She shook her head again and walked away.

"Wait! I forgot to tell you but I believe our enemies are chasing us." Davis said behind the Renamon.

"Don't worry about that. This hospital was made out of data that was designed to heal and recreate, those with the wishes to destroy cannot come anywhere near the hospital. Your enemies won't bother you in here." The Renamon replied and walked back into the examination room.

Davis sat down, he did not know what to think or do, and he just wanted to wait until something happened, whether that's good or bad. After about half an hour, T.K. stood up and tried to convince the group to go and rest: "Davis, Kari, you both have injuries that needs tending to by humans, we should go."

"I don't care... I want to see Veemon." Davis muttered under his breath.

The Piximon said to them, "You are not going to get any result today, go, and come back tomorrow evening."

Kari stood up and walked over to Davis and Tai, and said: "It won't do you any good to stay here, please, let's go back, we need to get ready."

Davis looked up at Kari and shook his head, he could not think of anything to do other than wait for news, doesn't matter how long that will take. Tai was of the same dull reaction.

"I will stay." Gatomon was clearly worried sick about things, "I will contact you guys as soon as I need to."

"Come on, Davis, Tai." Kari encouraged, they grunted and was very reluctant when Kari forced them to use their digi-vices to activate the portals.

"I will stay too." Patamon said, he gave a reassuring look to T.K. and urged him to go. Patamon did not want to leave Gatomon all alone when she was in such pain, both physically and mentally.

"Look after them." Davis and Tai both said as the four of them disappeared with a flash of light.

* * *

This chapter was strangely long, and Patamon is going to meet his new girlfriend soon ^_^

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	11. Chapter 11 Reminiscence

Hello!

The Good: Patamon is going to get a new girlfriend, yay!

The Bad: But Veemon is going to suffer, badly.

Read on!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Reminiscence**

_Am I? Am I Veemon? Or am I a machine? _

_You are an instrument, designed to kill, and you have done a lot of that, haven't you?_

_ I have killed... many._

_Even before your journey with your partner, have you ever stopped killing?_

_But... they were for good causes._

_Does it matter?_

_Yes... No... I destroyed them all..._

_You still killed, because you and many others saw them as being evil._

_One's suffering to stop many more suffering, isn't that a good thing?_

_When you were made, did you ever consider what your creators thought to be good or evil?_

_Should I?_

_Of course, if someone was so dedicated to a cause, they, even MaloMyotismon, would believe themselves to be doing the right thing and their opponents doing the wrong thing._

_..._

_What's wrong?_

_That's not me._

_You were made so perfectly as you chased down your master's targets until killing them mercilessly. That has not changed has is? Only that now you have different masters._

_No...It can't be me, I am not... a monster._

_What makes you think that you are a monster?_

_I... don't want to be like that... I don't want to be a cold-blooded creature whose whole purpose is to destroy..._

_But you are..._

Veemon opened his eyes; he felt tears all the way down his face. Looking around the dimly lit hospital room, Veemon noticed that he was alone on a hospital bed. He gave a sigh of relief, glad that he was away from the events that occurred.

Veemon attempted to move, his body refused to budge and reminded him of his numerous wounds as pain shot up his limbs. Veemon laid there looking at the ceiling with weary eyes, his nightmares playing again and again in his head. _Everything seems to be different_, he thought, _and it will never be the same again._

"Ah, good, you are awake." Veemon heard the voice of a Renamon and he turned round to look at her, she was walking towards him while carrying a tray piled with rolls of bandages and plasters.

"How long was I out?" Veemon asked, his voice raspy as he felt that his throat was extremely dry.

"Not too long, less than 12 hours. Which I am quite surprised to see, considering how bad those injuries are."

Veemon tried one more time to lift up his blankets to see his injuries, but the Renamon quickly stopped him, she said: "I wouldn't... also, try not to move at all, we need to prepare before we can heal you with data, if you crack up any more injuries now, you are going to make our lives a whole lot harder than it already is." She put the tray down on the table and started to cut up pieces of bandages and hang them onto the wall for later uses.

"Thank you..."

"You are welcome, although you need to thank that human friend of yours really. Someone on the other side must have given him some quick first-aid before he brought you here in a frenzy, when we asked to treat him too he just hurried us to look after you."

"Why? If we die, don't we just get reborn as digi-eggs?"

The Renamon turned round to look at Veemon seriously, "Being a doctor, that is one mindset that I will not allow in the head of any of my employees. And take this as an advice from an elder, don't think like that."

She finished with the bandages and proceeded to prepare the plasters, she continued speaking: "Yes, your data will be reconfigured and you will be reborn. But it is not you who is reborn; it is merely a split image of you. Unless your data was whole when you died, for example if you sacrificed yourself willingly, your memories, your wishes, your thoughts, these are not carried over from your previous life. When you die, your identity is destroyed... So, cherish your life... it is the only free one you have." Her voice rang through the empty room, sounding surprisingly loud, but so clear in Veemon's head.

The Renamon finished preparing the equipments and walked back to the door, Veemon coughed because of his parched throat when he tried to say something. She opened the door and called two people in, also giving one of them a cup of water before walking out.

"Veemon! How are you?" Gatomon ran up to her friend and crawled to his side, Patamon flew behind her, smiling and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"I don't know... but I can't move." Veemon forced a smile on his face as Gatomon spoon fed him some cool and sweet water, then he saw her slightly bloodied bandages and asked: "Gatomon, what happened to you?"

"According to Davis, I was attacked by the same people that got you in this state, but I was luckier than you. With the help of Patamon here, we did manage to destroy that thing, we hope..."

Veemon looked at Patamon as he waved again, "But you will be getting out soon, the digimons here are really good at healing."

"Patamon, can you tell me something?" asked Veemon weakly, Patamon nodded, "Why did you encourage Gatomon to... kiss me when you could have asked her out yourself?" Gatomon blushed as she heard him.

"Because if I did act for myself, I would cause unhappiness for the both of you, whereas that if I encouraged you, I have ensured everybody's happiness, being Gatomon's friend, I will always do what will make her happy, and now, so should you."

Veemon smiled back, he was beginning to pass-out again, his eyelids trying to force themselves shut as some of the doctor's drugs took effect.

"Alright, we are about to begin the process, you two should come out now." The Renamon doctor said as she entered the room again, there were several other digimons following her with different bizarre looking devices in their hands.

Gatomon turned and kissed Veemon gently on the lips before jumping down from the bed and walking to the exit with Patamon in front of her, she looked at the doctor and asked: "There is no danger is there?"

"No, but it will take a long time, and if I am interrupted in between, the data could become corrupt and that is what we _must_ not do." She looked at Gatomon with her forceful icy-blue eyes, a look that confirmed what she had just said with quite some force.

Gatomon nodded and followed Patamon out of the room. At the entrance, they heard someone running and moaning that they were late.

"WHOA!" Patamon yelled as that digimon came into the room and rammed into Patamon face first, knocking both of them over.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!..." Patamon quickly said,

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I was in a hurry..." the other digimon replied bashfully as well, she was a Gatomon, but her fur was that of a sleet ebony black, and in the place of a tail ring, she had several silvery bells attached to white and pink ribbons, it was as if someone took Gatomon and repainted her, except this Gatomon did not have the demeanour of a fighter with her.

Both of them stopped talking and looked at each other, Patamon smiled and she blushed, which in turn made Patamon blush. Patamon helped her get up as she quickly picked up the equipments which she had dropped onto the floor and said: "I am sorry, I was late and I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's okay, I'm not hurt." He hesitated and then said, "I am Patamon by the way, nice to meet you."

"I am Mikemon, nice to meet you too." She replied with a sweet smile on her face.

"Hurry up! You are late as it is! Have your chit-chattering after we finish with the work at hand." The Renamon yelled at her harshly and urged her to come over at once.

Mikemon made a sarcastic face, which made Patamon giggle, and said quietly: "Sorry, got to go. I will uh... talk to you later."

Patamon stared after her as she made her way to Veemon's bed with the far too many things in her hand. He would have just remained standing there if not for Gatomon nudged him with her elbow and they walked out of the room together.

**Somewhere in the Digital World, Gennai's House:**

Gennai held an amethyst ball in his hand and watched as it rolled one way and another, he said: "They have returned to where they came, and it will be quite a bit of time before they can gather enough data to come out again." Gennai turned to look at the cloaked figure and found him once again trying to form the blue ball of light in his hands; it is what he does every time he appears in Veemon's dreams.

"What do you think you are doing?!" Gennai yelled at the figure as he ran up to and pushed him over, "Are you _trying _to drive him insane?"

"I have got to talk to him. I must..." the figure responded, his voice solemn and feint, as if a echo heard in from the far end of a long corridor, "He will know sooner or later, and the earlier the better."

"Where did your brain go?" Gennai was not the least bit calming down, "Look at what you did the last time you contacted him. If he must know then at least wait until he is fit enough to contain the news!" Gennai sighed again, "Everything right now lies on a balance of order, if you go too fast or too far, it will collapse and... and you may very well make the same mistake as you did before..."

The figure turned round and snapped at Gennai when he spoke that last word, "Do... Not... Say that again..." he emphasized each syllable with force, "I am the cause of this tragedy, but I will also see to the end of it myself. Whole, I may not be, but my honour has not left me."

Silence followed immediately.

**In the Real World, At the Motomiya's:**

"Davis, you need to snap out of this!" Jun said to the door outside of Davis's room, trying her best to get Davis to talk, he had locked himself in his room ever since he came back and he haven't even ate or drank.

"If you don't come and eat dinner, you are going to get sick, what do you think Veemon would feel like if he saw you like this?" Davis did not even move his eye as he sat in the corner of his bed against the wall, he heard Jun, but he did nothing to respond to it.

Jun shook her head, this was not working. "Davis, please, come out!"

Nothing happened; Jun was both sad and frustrated, she kicked the door and left.

Unknown to her, Davis did move, he went to the computer and entered the Digi-world, _I'm going to Gennai,_ he thought, _it's about time I got some answers, and I ain't coming back without it._ With that, he disappeared into the computer

* * *

I am planning to keep the truth hidden for as long as possible, so don't expect the riddle to clear quite so quickly yet.

Also, I will show a bit more of Patamon with Mikemon, just to make some of you PataGato fans happy ^_^

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	12. Chapter 12 The End of the Beginning

Hello!

This is the last chapter of this story, the second half of the story will be written separately, and I don't really know why I decided to do it this way but oh well... I just felt like it...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 12: The End of the Beginning**

"GENNAI!" Davis shouted at the top of his lungs, he stood on what is left of the shores of the lake after their battle. "COME OUT! You have to! You know the reason behind all this and YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!"

His voiced echoed across the silent lake, it was passed midnight and everything was black except for the rays of moonlight shining down on the water in silver streaks. Davis heard no reply, so he yelled on, "COME AND TALK TO ME! Veemon is half-dead, Agumon got hurt bad, and so did Gatomon and Kari! Why didn't you warn us?! What are you so afraid of?! TELL ME!"

The echo faded, leaving behind nothing back an enraged Davis on the shore, "FINE! If you won't come out to see me, I will stay here! I will stay here no matter what happens until you tell me WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"

Davis dropped down on the beach, exhaustion quickly wearing him down, _whoever you are to be hurting my friends like this, I will make you pay... I will!_

**A Few Hours Later, In the Digi-Hospital:**

Gatomon paced anxiously outside of Veemon's room, she could see a bright blue light shining from the slit on the bottom of the door, the colour was strange, it danced and flowed like water, magical and ethereal, it is actually quite entrancing to look at.

In an attempt to calm Gatomon down, Patamon said to her: "You really are worried aren't you?"

"I am... Oh! I am just wasting my time, Veemon always makes it through! He always managed to cheat death no matter what the danger is, right?" She chuckled to herself, but it was not a laugh, it sounded almost hysterical.

"Gatomon..." Patamon grabbed her arm and sat her down; Gatomon was trembling and choking back tears.

"I don't believe this, less than a day ago I have just kissed him and now I am worried about whether I will ever see him again! This is just wrong!" Gatomon was beginning to lose control when the light inside the room stopped and the Renamon doctor walked out a few seconds later.

Gatomon stood up to speak, and the doctor stopped her with a wave of her hands, "I don't understand why the wounds on him are healing so slowly, but I am glad to say that he is physically stable for now."

Gatomon let out the breath she unconsciously held, she felt as if a great weight had just been lifted of her shoulders.

"It was strange; it was as if a part of his psyche was trying to reject the data that we were trying to use to heal his wounds, but that brings me onto my next point. Although he doesn't have much of a chance dying from his physical wounds now, something really traumatic must have happened which have totally blown his mind to pieces. Quite literally too, because we seemed to have detected multiple sub-consciousnesses inside his mind, it was just weird, creepy in fact." The Renamon rambled on, the digimons from inside the room has finished re-bandaging and re-plastering Veemon up and are getting ready for a much welcomed break as they walked out of the room with equipments in their hands. "The best thing to do now would be for someone close to him to stay with him; I would hate it if something else happened now."

As the doctor walked away, Patamon caught a glimpse of Mikemon as she gave him a deliberate wink, Gatomon urged Patamon to follow her, which he did quickly.

"So umm... thank you for saving my friend." Patamon thought of something to say.

"Oh, you are welcome! Although it is really the doctor you need to thank, I merely helped her out." Mikemon answered, her sweet voice sounding as if she was singing.

"Nah... I bet she wouldn't be anywhere near as successful without a skilful assistant like you." Patamon really was getting it right this time.

"Oh, why, that is so sweet of you! Thank you, oh... uh... it's nearly six in the morning, I want to go and get some food before having a break, want to come along."

"Of course, I am honoured to be invited by my friend's life-saver!"

"Heh-heh, hey, did I mentioned how cute you are."

Patamon blushed as they walked down the hallway together, "Maybe?" he said in a wry tone.

Gatomon watched the couple disappear behind a bend; she was smiling at how cute the two looked together. She turned and walked into Veemon's room, hopping onto the bed by his side, she laid her head on his chest and listened to his feint and steady heart-beat.

**In Veemon's Head:**

_I am not a tool... I don't want to be a killer..._

_But you are, my dear Veemon... you cannot change who you are._

_But I have been happy, I had friends and... Gatomon..._

_And how did you achieve that happiness? Was it not by defeating all your opponents that you have finally gained satisfaction?_

_...Yes... But is that not a good enough reason?_

_The point is not whether it is good or bad, but the fact that you have, and will always continue to hunt, fight, and kill..._

_No... If I had no opponents, I would not need to fight anymore._

_But  
first, how are you going to be rid of all opponents?_

_By... defeating them first..._

_Exactly, which you shall do, with ease._

_No... I don't want to, I don't want to live a life where violence and conflict is the entire meaning!_

_Violence and conflict is what life is about, it exists everywhere._

_Shut up! I don't want to hear any more! Why am I even talking to you? Who are you?_

_Me? My, you _are_ confused. I am you of course, how can you not talk to me._

_You are not me, you are a monster!_

_Doesn't that tell you a lot about yourself!_

_NO! I don't want you, whatever you are! You are vile! I do not want to listen to you!_

_You _need_ me, Veemon, only with _me_ have you managed you survive this long._

_I don't need you! I have friends; I have those I care about! I don't need you! Go away! Stop speaking to me!_

_You are a fool! And you will regret it! You _have_ nobody else!_

_A fool? Maybe, but a sane one I will remain! I have those I love and who love me in return, I have Davis! I have... Gatomon... I will not listen to you! Get out of my head!_

_No!_

_Gatomon!_

Veemon abruptly opened his eyes, he was panting and sweating. The morning sun shone through the gaps in between the curtain and onto his eye, blinding him temporarily. He looked at his right shoulder and smiled when he saw a curled up Gatomon sleeping there, he didn't want to move at all, afraid that he might wake her up from her happiest dream.

"Umph..." Gatomon felt movement and slowly opened her eyes and saw Veemon looking at her, his head had been bandaged in such a way, it looked quite funny, in a sick sense of humour.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Doesn't matter, how do you feel?"

"Umm... can't say, I can't feel my legs, but other than that and a few pains every now and then, it's not too bad."

"Not _too_ bad? This is serious, Veemon! You would not say so if you looked at yourself in the mirror."

"I will get through this alright, don't worry about me. What about Agumon?"

"He is a bit better than you, but considering the blood loss he had, he will be staying here for quite a bit."

Veemon thought about how this all started, It was only a day ago when he encountered the nine robed beings, went berserk, fought them, got crushed pretty badly and at the same time Gatomon nearly suffered the same fate, he could hardly believe that all these things happened so quickly. And then he remembered the memories he received as flash-backs, the fact that he was made, artificially produced to become a weapon of war, the look on that ExVeemon's face before he killed him... _No,_ Veemon quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. It was time to relax for a bit and he would hate to spoil the mood for Gatomon too.

"Hey, Veemon." Gatomon said to him as she crawled up a little higher on the bed, stroking his forehead as she spoke, "I will go to Gennai to speak to him about this, promise me that you will rest and recover while I am gone."

"Gennai won't help, I have already tried him." Veemon replied, he was quite annoyed just by thinking about the way Gennai refused to help, "He didn't want to give any information because apparently _it's for my own good_."

"But I have to do something to prepare, those creatures could attack again any moment, if they come together, we couldn't possibly win against them."

"I am worried about that too..." Veemon didn't know what to say next, but just laid there in comfort of Gatomon's company, "Gatomon you have to go back, Kari needs you."

"But... you have just woken up; I want to stay with you for a bit too."

"Thank you, I am only sorry you have to see me like this."

"Don't be sorry, relax for now, when you are better, we will think of something to solve these problems." Gatomon kissed him again, she wanted to go back to sleep, it has indeed been a very long day.

**In Gennai's House, Somewhere in the Digital World:**

"Foolish boy..." Gennai looked down at the unconscious Davis and muttered as he fed him teaspoons of red-sugar tea, "Now this is just great, he went suicidal just because he wanted some more information from me? Now how can I refuse to help him?"

"Well then, don't refuse to tell him." The cloaked figure said impassively.

"Oh, stop it! You are just acting stupid now, if I tell Davis now he will tell Veemon as soon as he gets out! Then what is the point of me trying to hide the information from Veemon in the first place?"

"He needs to know..."

"And how do you propose to tell him? If you just went up to him and said it, he would either lose his mind or become what we have always feared he would become, or maybe even both! He is not ready yet!"

"How much longer can we afford to wait?!"

"I don't know! But you are not making this any easier!"

"Fine... I will wait, but not for much longer."

The stalemate brought silence only broken by the occasional clank as spoon touched bowl, but what neither of them suspected, was that Davis was actually awake.

"So... anymore of these secrets I should know about?" Davis opened his eyes and looked straight at Gennai.

"You... You! How dare you!" Gennai nearly lost it when he realized that Davis heard all of what they have just said.

"You were right; you won't be refusing to help because I won't be leaving until I am satisfied! Make me leave if you will, but I will do just come back again and again."

Gennai sighed as the cloaked figure chuckled coldly, "I will tell you this under one condition." Gennai muttered several words and a pale blue ball about the size of a peanut appeared in his palm, "Eat this first."

"What is that?" Davis asked curiously.

"It is an oath, by eating this, you will not be able to tell anyone else what I am about to tell you in here. When you talk to someone with the intention to tell them this, the drug will make you forget what you are going to say, but this drug will only last as long as I consider fit, afterwards, you will automatically regurgitate it."

"But what would be the point if I cannot help anyone with the things I know, that is the whole reason why I came here." Davis has lost all patience with these small things.

"This will not stop you from taking actions because of the things you know, that much you do not need to worry about."

Davis looked nervously at the blue pill, it's not like he didn't trust Gennai enough, but the thought of having his speech controlled by some external source was not all that appealing to him.

"Oh! Stop playing games, just tell him! Has he not proved his determination already?" the cloaked figure was equally irritated.

"Silence!" Gennai hushed him with unexpected aggressiveness.

"No!" Davis shook his head, "If the information is all that important, I have to tell the others! What is possibly so dangerous about knowing what those nine creeps are? And what is this with Veemon being special and all that?"

"Because it is! I am not powerless against you, young man! I could put you in a coma and send you back to your mother by force if I really wanted to! Now accept the offer or else."

Davis hesitated; he gulped and picked up the pill. Staring at it, he closed his eyes and swallowed it.

"Good, now I will start by answering your first question. What the nine robed beings are."

Gennai cleared his throat and spoke, "Digimons are made out of complex data, as you know. What you do not know is that only a fraction of those data are the ones you can see, what really makes up a digimon, is the humongous amount of data that makes up its emotions, its way of thinking, its personality and in other words, its mental identity. Long time ago, nine fanatical power-seeking digimons discovered this by cruelly performing experiments on various other digimons, they discovered this vast amount of data and also discovered that data can be converted into physical power, and so the long road to tragedy began. I will also note that these nine are also responsible for a whole lot of other things.

"By consuming parts of themselves, they converted what they deemed to the unnecessary parts of their data, the parts of data that made up their emotion and social thinking, into raw uncontrollable power. They have not only done so to themselves, but they gathered and killed countless other digimons with a special tool they invented to absorb their data effectively, and they gained power each day. Now they are something akin to a demon, they have power beyond normal comparison, but at the same time they are empty, shadows of existence washed over by time, their only goal is to kill and gather more data for themselves."

"But if they are really so powerful, why didn't you or the digital world do something about it?" Davis asked.

"The digital world did do something about it and with Veemon too."

"And then I freed them..." Davis was shocked at the revelation.

"There is nothing to blame yourself about; you did so for a good cause."

"But what if they come into the real world and wreak havoc? They have already done so once!"

"The nine are very much connected; they constantly feed each other their own data. And of course, they are most powerful when together, as demonstrated by your battle with them. This naturally means that they are at disadvantages when separated, and when they emerge in the real world, they require huge amounts of electricity to support their sudden shift in position, the amount of power required would normally break human electric circuits, making it impossible for more than two of them to come into the real world at once. According to you, they have already done so once, that also mean that they cannot do so for another relatively long period of time. Because of their power consumption, it is great even in the digital world, after their battle with you, they will need to go back and recharge their data again."

"Those monsters! They should be destroyed right now! But still, I don't understand why this is so dangerous for us to know or why has this got anything to do with Veemon."

"Because..." Gennai hesitated even now, "Veemon may not realize it, but he is more than capable of doing the exact same thing."

"What?! You mean that Veemon could become like them? No way, how is that possible?!" This all made dreadful sense in Davis's head, but he did not want to face the truth, not until that it is absolutely certain.

"Because Veemon is... " Gennai did not want to say this at all, "Veemon was created by these nine beings, now this is not the whole story, but, yes... Veemon was created by these nine people as a killing machine, equipped with every possible weapon against anything through the data of others: its ultimate ability to unlock god-like powers by killing everything around him. You have witnessed only a mere percentage of what Veemon's locked away memories can do to him when you saw his dark-digivolution, should he ever know about this, I despair."

"I... don't believe you... I CAN'T believe you!"Davis was deep in shock at what he just heard, _my Veemon? My Veemon is... an artificially created machine? No... this is not possible!_ "He has saved so many lives! This has got to be a mistake!"

"I am afraid not, he was sealed away and this caused him amnesia, that's' the only reason why he have not given into his dark nature yet, but should he ever know his true powers, even one as pure as Veemon may not be able to resist its temptations."

Davis covered his face with his hands, he muttered: "And the nine have come again..."

"To take back what they made..." the cloaked figure stood up and said to Davis, "And they won't be leaving without his head. But there is more, there is someone behind this, and it is entirely my fault... It was the biggest mistake I have ever made..."

To be continued...

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Thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed that, because I certainly enjoyed writing it.

And of course, I want to THANK EVERYONE OF YOU for reading and reviewing, this is my first fanfic and the fact that you guys are reading this are really good encouragements and encouragements are greatly appreciated by a noob like me!

Thank you once again!


	13. Chapter 13 Tragic Entrance

Hello, again! I'm back!

Carried on from the previous story, Veemon will slowly start to learn about things that will lead to the story arc, sorry if this all sound really cheesy, but believe me, the story isn't.

So read on and enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Tragic Entrance**

It has been almost a month...

A month of waking dreams and dazed reality, the time that fleeted by without much notice as the Veemon woke in and out of trances induced both by the doctors and himself. While during the day the doctors worked to mend his dire injuries the best as they could, at night he was trapped and tortured in the prison that had encased his consciousness, the memories and thoughts that were not his own washed through his mind like ice cold torrents brushing against his soul, an indescribable torment threatening to tear his sanity apart, it was all Veemon could do to not scream out loud in the middle of the night.

Sometimes Davis and the others will visit him, but to Veemon it was all just a blur of incoherent voices and images, he was far too tired to reply himself. It was evidential that these trances weren't doing him any good, so many days of lying still in a bed has greatly worn him down.

Today was not much different, but he felt the very first signs of recovery. It was not much, but at least now he can talk without falling asleep. Veemon was eager to see his friends again, he so wanted to talk to those warm and loving faces that he had known for so long. As Veemon cannot go back to the real world himself, he had just hoped that the others will visit him again today, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Veemon! You are finally awake!" Davis cried out as he burst into the room, he was almost crying, but Veemon knew that he was trying not to because Kari and T.K. was around, for the first time in weeks, Veemon smiled, and was extremely happy doing so too.

"Hello, guys." Veemon greeted his friends cheerfully. Davis charged up to him and hugged him, causing Veemon to flinch as his split shoulder blades complained about the sudden contact, it was one wound that proved to be very problematic to heal.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Davis backed off and put his hand on Veemon's head as he found a chair and sat down next to him, "I have visited you quite often, but you never replied to anything I have said, I... You really had me worried you know?!"

Davis's expression was a rather comical mix between sheer happiness and his desperate efforts to stop tears rolling down his face; Veemon couldn't help but laugh at him, which also made Kari laugh when she saw his now red face.

"Crying doesn't mean you are weak you know, it is actually quite good for you." Kari said to Davis sweetly, she sat down with Gatomon, T.K. and Patamon next to her, "Besides, it is only natural for it to happen when you see your friend like this."

Davis couldn't control it anymore, he laughed and turned away as drops of tears fell from his eyes, "Oh, stop it..." he wiped his face and turned to Veemon, "I almost thought you wouldn't come back... I have never been so worried before, Veemon."

Veemon looked at Davis in the eyes, he didn't know what to say, but that was enough; that was all he needed to do to tell Davis what he felt.

"He really was worried, when we had our little math exam recently, Davis sat the whole way through and gave a blank answer sheet up at the end. As you can guess, that got him in quite a bit of trouble too." T.K. told Veemon about Davis's almost suicidal behaviour in these past few weeks, "He barely ate any food every day; we were beginning to seriously worry about his health."

"Davis, you really shouldn't act stupid like that, if I am deleted, I can be reborn, but you..." Veemon remembers full well what the Renamon doctor said to him, but he just wanted Davis to feel better.

"If you get deleted, how am I sure that I will get the same good old Veemon back? Besides..." Davis suddenly choked on his words, something stopped him from speaking, as he have just forgotten what he was about to say.

"What?" Veemon asked, it was all too apparent that something other than Davis himself stopped him from speaking.

"I..." Davis stopped again, _ah! Gennai's drug!_Davis could not say anything to explain himself, so he said the only thing he could say: "Nothing!" He may even have said that out a little too loud, "I mean... I don't want to see you suffer, you are my best friend after all, which I am sure you know."

"Of course I know, Davis."

"It's just... such a relief to see you OK after all that's happened..."

"Davis, enough with all that downer." Kari was going to make the mood a little more cheerful than Davis was making it, "This is a happy day, right? All that is important right now is that Veemon is better, so let's all just stop worrying and talk about some fun stuff."

"Of course!" Davis laughed and reached into his back pack, after a brief struggle he managed to get a tantalising tub of ice cream out, and that almost made Veemon drool.

"Ice cream? And the triple flavoured type?!" Veemon's eyes pinned themselves onto the ice cream, "The doctors did say that I shouldn't be eating anything... but..."

Davis grinned and took out two spoons, "Just like the old times, friend..."

And so the lid was torn off and the two dug their faces into the ice cream like tigers, munching and gulping noisily as pieces of ice cream flew all over the place, leaving a sweat dropped Kari and T.K. to watch.

**Several Hours Later:**

_Man, the ice cream was good._ Veemon hadn't felt so good for how long now? That was Davis and Veemon's little game, the ice cream devouring competition. They were still aiming at the target of downing a tub of ice cream in less than a minute, fortunately, so far they have failed. Veemon laughed as he recalled the look on Kari's face, which showed her shock at the "brutality" of the contest.

Veemon had finally been able to walk, a bit painful, accompanied by some slight limping, but at least he is not uncontrollably shaky. He gave the ice cream the credits for his recovery, and it felt so nice to finally be able to walk on his own feet again.

_Fresh air...Mmm..._ Veemon took a deep breath of the afternoon air, sweet with the smell of dew condensed throughout the day, once again cherishing that which he had not felt during all the time he was in the hospital. Veemon decided to take a walk. Everybody else has left, leaving Gatomon and Patamon behind with him.

"... I feel really sorry for him you know? Being injured so badly and having hallucinations every day, _someone_ have to take care of him..."

The voice came from just around the corner, it was Gatomon's voice. Curious, Veemon went to take a look.

"Do you feel anything more for him than that?"

The second voice was Patamon, speaking with a comically sly tone.

"Of course not!"

A knot formed inside Veemon's chest, he stood against the wall and listened in.

"Ha-ha, I was only joking... I'm sorry; I really am not very good with this type of things..."

"At what things? Trying to amuse me?" Gatomon sounded strangely cheerful, it unsettled Veemon.

"You know... how to talk to girls and all that."

"You are so bashful, heh, but that's what I like about you."

"Really? Does that mean that you um... like me a lot? ... Oh, what am I saying?! That is no way to ask a girl out!"

Veemon stood sweating; he clenched his fists and bit down on his teeth hard.

"It's ok, ha-ha. It's been almost a month now; you should know me well enough to know your answer."

"So... that's... a yes?"

Veemon moved his head slightly to peep out at the two and caught a glimpse of Patamon's head as he blushed and moved forward to kiss someone else. He couldn't control it anymore; Veemon snapped his head back and ran into the hospital, tears forming in his eyes.

Patamon heard loud footsteps and turned to the direction of the noise, "Hello? Someone there?"

"Who was that?" Mikemon walked away from the bush that obscured her and asked.

"I don't know, but it would be annoying if it was Gatomon peeping on us." He turned to Mikemon and smiled, joking: "She would spread the news everywhere and I will become a laughing stock."

Veemon ran back to his hospital room and slammed himself onto his bed, uncontrollably choking back tears.

_Almost a month... almost a month she had been with him while I was out? ... Gatomon..._

_Well, what did you expect?_

_SHUT UP!_

_Hahahaha, I told you..._

_SHUT UP! STOP SPEAKING TO ME!_

_Why should she seriously care for a psychopathic comatose thing like you when there is a whole world full of choices outside?_

_BECAUSE I TRUSTED HER!...But..._

_Yes! _BUT!_ What is trust worth? Can you get into her head? Do you know what she is really thinking?_

_No! This is a mistake, she was close to me! She liked me! I swear!_

_'I feel really sorry for him... _someone_ has to take care of him...' Doesn't that sound surprisingly nauseous?_

_..._

"Are you OK?" Gatomon stood by the door, slightly panicking at Veemon's sudden disturbance.

_Oh, my! Isn't this a good moment for our little princess to appear._

Veemon stared at her with all expressions on his face frozen, there was an uncomfortable silence in the room as the both of them did not know what to say.

"Gatomon! Guess what?! I..." Patamon charged into the room shining with happiness, he stopped abruptly as he saw the strange stalemate in the room, "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Veemon said out loud before he could control himself, his tone was all too cynical; he paused for a second before speaking again as he jumped off the bed, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Gatomon of course did not have any idea what Veemon was talking about.

_I told_ _you..._

More tears flowed down Veemon's face, "If you wanted to go with him, you could have at least told me! I _can_ reason you know!"

"What the heck are you talking about?!" Gatomon was quite angry at the sudden accusations that she can't even make any sense out of, "Who is 'he'? And what has gotten into you all of a sudden?!"

_Oh! Looks like you will have to spill her beans yourself!_

"Stop acting! I heard you! I heard you talking to Patamon back there; you have been with him for a month! Stop trying to hide it!"

Dread filled Patamon as he understood the situation and he desperately tried to sort the whole mess out, unfortunately, his attempts to speak was totally drowned out by Gatomon's.

"Now hold it there! Whoever you think you heard about who knows what I don't care, but I am not shameful enough to cheat on my boyfriend when he needs me the most!" She was practically weeping as she shouted, "I have asked Patamon about his feelings and it would be good if you at least respected a tiny bit of mine! Why the heck do you think I have hang out with you in the first place if all I wanted was to be with Patamon?!"

_Whoa, feisty even till the end._

"Because..." Oh, he did **not** want to say this, "you pitied me; the only reason why you were ever close to me is because you pitied me for what I was! Is that not what you said?!"

Gatomon dashed up to Veemon and slapped him across the face, the sound echoed through the silent room loud and clearly. Tears overwhelmed her eyes and flowed down her face in streams as she winced and sprinted out of the room.

_Satisfied? Hehe... the power of love... hah! How dramatically amusing!_

"That was stupid." Patamon criticised as he flew closer to Veemon, who stood on the floor motionlessly.

"Stupid? Well, that's funny coming out of your mouth!" Veemon snapped back at Patamon immediately.

"Look, this is one gigantic misunderstanding..."

"Yes! Yes! Misunderstanding! You were joking! Whatever! I don't need excuses!" Veemon interrupted him ferociously.

_Good boy, Veemon._

"You are acting like a fool! And you will regret it!" Patamon cried in his face.

That insult rang all too clearly in Veemon's head. Seething with anger, Veemon suddenly raised his fist as he spun around to punch Patamon. Patamon saw his move and was above to dodge when Veemon let out a yell of pain and fell onto the ground. He immediately flew to his side.

"Veemon! Are you..."

"Get away from me!" Veemon swatted Patamon aside, fighting back the pain; he stood up and jumped out of the nearest window, not stopping a bit as he was showered and cut by glass shards.

"Veemon! Come back!" Patamon chased Veemon desperately as he ran deeper and deeper into the woods.

He ran and ran, not ever turning back, all he wanted to do was run, he just wanted to get away, from everything.

_Now that! Was great!_

_SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!_

Veemon fell onto the grass as his legs gave away...

_Hehehehehehe... ahahahahaha..._

He rolled back and forth as he wept and fought against his torturous living nightmare.

_Hahahahaha... AHAHAHAHAHA!_

_Stop... please, stop it..._

_HAHAHAHAHAHA!..._

And all that was left was total darkness...

* * *

The new beginning, hope you like it! As far as I can see, Veemon definitely won't...

As I said, school has started, so I am very sorry that updates will come very slowly, but I will try none the less, with support from you guys of course ^_^

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	14. Chapter 14 The Final Straw

Hello!

Veemon is slowly descending into his "dark side", and Gatomon has just gone to crap with him, not looking good? Some truth will be coming soon.

Read on!

* * *

**Chapter 14: The Final Straw**

Images flashed and sounds crackled, the familiar sensation of strange hallucinations.

This was a battle field, and the two sides that were fighting? Both sides consisted of hordes of ExVeemons, Flamedramons, Raidramons and many other digivolution of Veemon. Both sides were strong, and they all had other digimons to help them, but victory was impossible to determine. Data exploded and scattered, one after another died, the noise and commotion was overwhelming.

After what felt like life times of non-stop battling, night fell and there was no one except for the corpses of digimon that has not yet broken down into data, _lots_ of corpses.

Senses returned to Veemon's body; he realized that he could look around. Something pressed against him like crushing fatigue; he looked down and saw a familiar site: his body dissolving and forming inside a vortex of data.

"Indeed, this is what you were made for, was it not?"

Veemon knew who it was, he didn't even want to lift his head up to look at the cloaked figure as he paced around the vortex, all he did was stare at the swirling pool of data, it's never stopping patterns spinning again and again, data flying and splattering as they were sucked into the vortex.

"When they made you, they thought that you could finally put an end to the war, they thought you were the trump card, with you, the fighting could finally stop. You demonstrated your prowess all too well, it was a hope that none of them had for so long."

Veemon turned to look at the figure as he stood still in front of him, he saw the figure about to say something again, but not before quickly turning his head around first, it was quite apparent that he was trying to control himself, from weeping. _Why the heck is he crying? Just what does he care about so much?_ Veemon wondered to himself, but carefreely.

"But did you? Hope... the hope everyone had was shattered, the only thing you ever brought, was utter despair and destruction." The figure tried to sound hateful, but other emotions have totally drowned that attempt out, "You brought peace... huh... with mountains of corpses behind you. I guess it worked, killing everyone so that no one is left to fight, meant peace, right?"

Veemon clenched his teeth, he did not want to hear any of this, but what choice did he have.

"So that was your purpose... and you completed your mission all so perfectly..."

Veemon was silent, what could he possibly say back? That he didn't remember doing it and that he is not guilty? No, he wanted to say something else, something... not so innocent: "Why are you telling me this? Do you really think I care about who I killed all that time ago?" It was a cold thing to say.

"Because... soon, when you find out the whole truth, you are going to have to make a choice." He sat down and looked Veemon in the eye, those cold yet not emotionless eyes, "Whether you will resist the call of your primal purpose and live on as you are, or give into it. Give into your nature where power is only something you get with the snap of a finger, where untold carnage can be brought with ease. It is all too easy to give in, Veemon, easier than you will believe. But I will not let that happen, I can help you... only if you let me."

_"Veemon... Veemon"_ Veemon heard a feint voice, sounding so quiet and so distant.

"I am not letting you do anything with me!" Veemon replied bitterly.

_"Veemon!"_ the voice became clearer and closer.

The figure let his head down in sadness, "But I will try, there is always a chance."

_"Veemon! Wake up!"_

Veemon was shaken awake; he snapped out of his visions and opened his eyes slowly. He saw Davis's worried face, and he was glad that Davis was alone.

"Veemon, how are you?"

"I'm fine." He obviously wasn't.

"Come on, we have to get you back." Davis was about to lift Veemon up before he pushed Davis's arm away.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't even know..."

Davis hesitated for a second before asking, "Why did you leave the hospital all of a sudden?"

"I would rather not talk about that."

"Come on, Veemon, you can tell me anything."

"Can I?" Veemon replied with unexpected bitterness.

Davis was surprised, he has not ever heard Veemon speak like this, "Veemon, please! Tell me what is wrong! I want to help you!" Davis was desperate, he had never seen Veemon behave like this before and it seriously worried him. From the knowledge he gained from Gennai, Davis partially knew the reason of Veemon's behaviour, but that only worried him more.

"You can't help me... I don't even know what will help me."

"Is it about the nightmares?"

Veemon thought back to what happened back in the hospital, he was still emotionally unsettled by the argument with Gatomon. He didn't want to think about that at all, so he lied and said yes.

"I'm sorry, I can't imagine how much you would have suffered, I just wish there was a way to free you." Davis looked down at the ground, _there is a way!_ He thought furiously to himself, _but I can't..._

"The only person who can help me is Gennai, but he won't even TRY to help!" Veemon cried out loud as he punched the ground, denting the soil as well sending jolts of pain up his injured arm.

Davis was disturbed, he was frightened! He wanted to say something, quickly! "Gennai did..." but it was a stupid choice, it was obvious he could not say anything other than that.

Veemon looked at him suspiciously, "What are you hiding?" he even surprised himself at how vicious he sounded.

"Hiding? What are you talking about?" Davis's heart beat inside his chest faster and faster; he was not good at lying at all.

"There is something you are obviously not telling me." Deep down, Veemon wondered why he was questioning Davis like this.

"I... I am sorry, I want to tell you, but I..." Davis choked mid sentence again and again, _don't do this, Gennai!_

_So even Davis doesn't trust me, _Veemon didn't know why he wanted to know the information so much.

_Because you want to test him on his true level of trust don't you?_

_No! No way! I am not that type of person; I would never play on a friend like that!_

_You lie about your action _whilst _doing it? Now that is some pathetic bluffing skill._

"Why won't you tell me? What is it even about?"

"Look... there is something, I (gasp)... It is just something that happened before I freed you!" Davis blurted out whatever he could say. _Davis__! You idiot! You shouldn't have said that!_ But only after saying the sentence out loud did he realize how stupid that was.

Veemon turned and stared at Davis sharply.

_Oh! So he knew! Looks like your friend has been doing his homework on you while you were out cold in the hospital._

"Where did you get the information from?" Veemon asked Davis with an aggression that no one had ever heard from Veemon before in his voice, "It's from Gennai isn't it? Tell me!"

Davis sat there frozen; Veemon had really scared him, "Veemon... Why... Why are you so angry?"

"Why am I so angry? Because while everyday you guys are out there living your life, I am feeling my mind getting torn to pieces and pieces AND PIECES! My head is boiling with visions and I feel like I am going insane! If you have any information that could help me then being a friend it is your duty to tell me!" Veemon shouted out in fiery rage, he stared at a sweating and panting Davis who was helplessly speechless.

"I can't explain, I can't... I can't! I just can't!" Davis shook his head again and again as he searched for something... _anything_ intelligent to say, he can't even explain why he can't explain.

"Even after seeing me like this, you won't tell me?" Veemon felt tears in his eyes again, all sorts of emotions swelled up inside him: sadness, anger, frustration... and even betrayal. "Please, Davis... tell me."

Seeing Veemon suffering and begging like this broke Davis's heart, he wanted to tell him! He wanted to do it so badly! _Damn it, Gennai! Why are you doing this?!_ Davis fumbled for words; he was so desperate he knew that he was crying, _say something! Say something! Say something!_ "I... I am sorry! I can't! Stop asking me! Please! Stop asking me!"

Veemon let his head down, he sighed sadly, but only to let out a cold, betrayed chuckle afterwards. He looked at Davis, and ran away.

"Veemon!" Davis sprang up at Veemon's sudden reaction, he saw Veemon sprinting away further into the forest, and he desperately tried to chased him, but how could he possibly keep up with a digimon. "VEEMON!" Davis shouted at the top of his lungs, _Oh no! What have I done?!_ All he felt at that moment, was sickening dread.

**Further Away at a Cliff in the Forest:**

Rain battered down on Veemon as he lay on the edge of the cliff, he stayed there, not moving one bit as raindrops soaked his skin and wind sent chills down his spine. He no longer felt any reason to move.

_This is so ironic it is almost amusing, haha._

_Of course you would find it amusing._

_Think back, Veemon, think back. 'I have people I love and who love me in return', is that not what you said?_

_..._

_'I have Davis and... Gatomon...' oh, doesn't that make me feel sick. Isn't it so funny that both of those people were knocked out of your list in, let's say, less than half a day?_

_..._

_Oh, why so stoic? Veemon, you have seen it, Gatomon only cares for you because she thinks that you need help. And Davis, hah, Gennai told him everything but not you, and the reason why Davis isn't telling you anything? Because he is afraid of you, you are a tool of destruction, Veemon, you have proven that. Davis has been so friendly to you because he feels _so _sorry for you._

_He has been with me for as long as I can remember, and so has Gatomon, why should I listen to you over them._

_Hahahahaha! That is amusing indeed! Because I am YOU, Veemon! Listen to me, and listen to yourself! Hahahaha!_

_Hmph, hehe, you are right._

_And?_

_You are me, aren't you?_

_Of course, Veemon._

_Then let me tell you this: screw you!_

Veemon jolted up right and ran to the cliff, he felt the weightlessness take over as he fell over the edge and held his breath, plummeting down head first into the river below.

...

...

...

Those few seconds felt so long, each one a century of endless waiting, Veemon did not know what was happening, but for a moment, the sounds of the world grew dim, the splashing of the river stopped, the sound of raindrops hitting the wind-ruffled leaves faded away, leaving an empty and clenching silence.

"WHY?! Why did you do that?!"

Veemon opened his eyes and saw that he was once again inside the room of dark void in his mind; he was upside down, falling into pitch black nothingness. Hovering before him, was the cloaked figure.

"Because you made me. Is that what you ever wanted, to break my mind? To torture me in my every waking and sleeping minute? To drive me insane? Well, you succeeded." Veemon grew angrier and angrier, "CONGRATULATIONS! Are you satisfied now?!"

The figure was crying, Veemon saw his glistening tears as they fell from his eyes and down his mask, the tiny droplets that flew into the oblivion and disappeared into nothingness. He spoke in a regretful and sorrowful voice, "I... cannot apologize enough. I have hurt you beyond redemption... This is worth nothing, but... I am sorry..."

"WHY?! Who the heck are you?! How do you have ANYTHING to do with me?! I don't understand! WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME?!"

"BECAUSE..." His voice a mixture of sadness and desperation, the figure ripped his cloak apart as more tears streamed down his face.

Underneath that cloak, was a gray skinned ExVeemon. Countless scars and bruises were laid across his limbs, the testimony for the equally countless battles this ExVeemon must have participated in. But what was most striking, was that one huge scar that stretched itself from his right shoulder to his left thigh. The wound was so big and deep that he couldn't have possibly survived it. "Because..." The ExVeemon continued in his tearful voice.

"... you are my child..."

* * *

No Star Wars jokes please...

This chapter has been more on Veemon's mind tricks and his relation collapse with everyone than anything else, so you should be able to tell that a bit of action is coming next.

Once again, thank you for reading, I will try and do as much updates as possible!

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	15. Chapter 15 Choice without an Alternative

OK, the next chapter!

I am going to pay a bit of attention to what is happening in the real world for a moment, but Veemon will need a bit of time for mental recovery, because "he is in a lot of mental pressure"...

Anyway, here goes...

* * *

**Chapter 15: Choice without an Alternative**

Silence was the only thing that followed the comment.

Veemon looked down and laughed coldly, "Hah, you think you can just fool me like that? You are just an illusion. How can you even expect me to believe you?"

"... I expect nothing of you; I know that I have already lost all rights to call myself a sire." The ExVeemon looked at Veemon pitifully; Veemon had not seen anybody else with a sadder expression on their face, "But... I cannot ignore my guilt... and my shame..."

"How could you possibly be my father?! It's not possible!" Veemon shoved his head forward and cried, his voice spoke of pure frustration and anger.

"I can explain! I can help! Please, just listen to me!" That was not a demand, his voice was so helpless, it was much more of a beg.

Veemon closed his eyes again, this whole thing was just too much for him, "... did I ever have a choice?" He muttered with tears in his eyes.

"I am sorry..." The ExVeemon reached down to touch Veemon on the head. But that was the end of the waiting, the fall has finished.

Light erupted from every corner of his vision, his every sense mangled together. Veemon felt the chilling torrent as he was engulfed by the rushing waters of the ravine. The impact felt like his body being slammed into an iron wall, instantly knocking his weak consciousness away.

It was the embrace of sorrow...

**In the Real World, At the Kamiya's:**

"Gatomon..." Patamon looked at her nervously; she had been so very moody since they returned from the Digital World.

"I'm fine; I'm just a bit annoyed." Gatomon felt more angry than sad, because after she heard the truth from Patamon and Mikemon, she kind of understood the whole situation a bit more, and maybe... just maybe she didn't think she hated Veemon as much. But still, he had no reason to accuse her like that, and if he understood her enough, he would have at least held his suspicion and talked more rationally, "It's just the way he talked to me that really ticked me off, I know why he acted like that but he could have at least thought for a moment that I wouldn't be the type of person to stab him behind the back."

"I know, but it would be good for you if you just forget about these things for a bit, you know, have a break?" Patamon patted her on the shoulder with a wing and tried to cheer her up.

"It is just a misunderstanding, I'm sure his human friend will calm him down." Mikemon gave a glass of juice to Gatomon as she sat next to her, Kari had taken her back with the others from the Digital World, much to Patamon's delight, "And eventually, we can tell him the whole story and everything will just be back to normal again."

"No... I don't want to see him... at least not any time soon anyway." Gatomon took a sip of the glass and convulsed as she spat it across the room, "What is this?"

"Juice, I crushed 12 of those yellow fruity things I found to make it." Mikemon replied innocently.

Patamon looked at the glass and said: "You know, real world lemons don't tend to make drinkable juice by themselves..." he giggled at the glass of sour liquid.

"Oh, sorry." Mikemon smiled sweetly at her mistake, the little accident made Gatomon smile too. The fact that her friends were there when she needed them the most had cheered her up greatly.

Kari and the others were out, they were trying to gather the digi-destined and prepare for whatever is to come. They needed more information, but that required time, more time than they had, because the nine were on the move again.

**Somewhere in the Digital World:**

Veemon floated on the surface of the river as the current rushed and pushed him along, he wasn't awake, at least not physically. Inside his head, he was trapped in that ever so tormenting room of darkness.

Everything was pitch black; the sensory deprivation was making it hard for him to feel anything. But he knew he was lying on his back, and staring directly upwards at the invisible ceiling. Somewhere around him, the ExVeemon paced around.

"I really don't know how to speak to you about this... Hmph, Gennai will probably try and delete me if he ever got to know what I have, and will, reveal." The ExVeemon spoke in his ever so silent voice, although not muffled by his mask anymore, still reflected the darkness that seems to have enveloped his entire being.

Veemon stayed still as his battered body did not allow him to move, the fall have tore open so many injuries which he had been recovering from. All he could do was mutter in a weak and pitiful voice, "Tell me, what do you mean that I was made?"

The ExVeemon paused for a second, searching for the words to say, "The nine created you." Veemon shivered at that, "They created a tool which could vacuum and harvest data from dead and slain digimons. You were created during a time of war, and they used that tool in the aftermath of many battles and fused all that sucked up data into your egg. It was a sickening act, imagine all that data from all those dead digimons, their only memories are those of their last moments on the battle field, killing and be killed. It was an abomination."

Veemon shut the thought out of his head; he did not want to think about it. Veemon have had fantasies about how he would have been born, given that he was sealed away for so long, he wondered how his digi-egg came to be, but to think this... _so I was created through the data of those whose only wishes at the time was to kill the others..._"But why did I have to know this? Why did I have to suffer because of something I can't even remember?"

"It is not yours, but my fault." The ExVeemon looked at him guiltily, "If it weren't for me, you would have never come to be... I am sorry."

"Then why couldn't you leave me alone..." Veemon said coldly, he didn't care for emotions at all at that moment, "Why couldn't you have just left me after everything was alright when Davis released me? Why did you just _have_ to remind me and torture me like this?! WHY?!" his speech grew angrier and angrier.

"I have tried! I have! And I would have left you well alone if not for circumstances demanding me to meet you, and even then I wanted to keep our contact to be as little as possible!" The ExVeemon desperately cried out his explanation, "I have tried to make myself cold by insulting you and calling you perfect as a machine! I have tried to tell myself that you are just a weapon and I am just doing what I must! I have even forced myself to hurt you so this can all be over more quickly! But I'm sorry, I can't! I just can't ignore my ties anymore!"

"Why should I care? I don't even know you!" This was as bitter as Veemon had ever been to anyone, but he has had enough, he just wanted it all to stop.

"Because they are coming!" the ExVeemon looked at Veemon with fear on his face, "they are coming for you, but someone is behind this. I know who it is and it needs to be stopped, and I cannot do it by myself... I need your help... I..."

"And WHY should I help you?!" Veemon jumped up and shouted in rage, he cringed with the pain that he suddenly felt, but he still shouted: "What have you ever done so you can ask me to help you?! You tormented me for a month so that you could ask for _help_ from me...?" Veemon stopped; he saw the ExVeemon let down his head in deep remorse and turned away.

Despite his anger, the sight made Veemon feel sorry for his apparent father, he probably has been through a lot, and it would not have been pleasant, because Veemon have never seen a more sorrowful digimon before. _I need to know more, I need to know why he is doing this..._ After calming himself down, Veemon said: "So I was a weapon, but I have already figured that much out. This is not the full story is it?"

"No, it isn't, but that is not important right now, you need to get to somewhere safe and rest."

"Wait, I need to know more, if those things can attack even the real world, why haven't they done so."

The ExVeemon explained to Veemon what Gennai had told Davis about the nine beings, and that somewhat reassured Veemon, it was a relief to know that those things can't attack Davis and the others when they were away.

"But they are ready now, and they are on the move, they have gathered as much power as they can and they will be trying to hunt down the other digi-destined. If they succeed, they would have directly destroyed the opposite of their nature and this will expand their power. You can't let that happen."

"Why do they want to do that? What is their goal anyway?"

"Nothing... It is sad, their only purpose is to gather power, yet they don't realize that there is no reason for them to be doing so... "

"But, still..." Veemon wanted to know more, the information, albeit horrifying, had stirred Veemon's curiosity, "How was I born? I mean my egg... If you are my father, you must know about everything. Also, how come you are the only one there is, what about the other digi-destined digimon's parents?"

The ExVeemon chuckled and muttered: "... Did you really think that I'm still alive?"

"Huh?" Veemon suddenly remembered that he mentioned "a long time ago" in his explanation for the nine things, "You mean... you are dead? Then how are you still here."

"I... do not know how long I have been in here, not even Gennai could guess the age of this prison..."

Veemon was shocked, "What do you mean? You are saying that you were trapped in this room for such a long time?"

"I could only manifest my data in Gennai's house, but that is as much contact as I can make to the outside world... anyway, I need to you to wake up now, you need to get away."

"No, wait, I need to know more!" _He had been trapped in this room all this time?_ The thought of being eternally imprisoned in this area where he can hardly make out a thing was absolutely terrifying, he was suddenly interested in this ExVeemon's past, "You need to make more sense, how did this all happen? And how did my egg end up in those monsters' hands?"

"There really is no time! You have to go." The ExVeemon walked up the Veemon and muttered a few words, "This is going to hurt a bit, and you are going to be feeling a lot of pain when you wake up, so find somewhere to rest immediately."

Light flushed and sound crackled in Veemon's ears again, he felt as if he had been squeezed through a tight rubber tube as all senses exploded and he returned to his body.

_Ahh! My shoulders... and legs... can't move..._ Veemon lay paralysed as he floated down the river, so many injuries had reopened themselves across his body, he could only pray for the pain to subside even for a moment.

After a few minutes of struggling, Veemon gathered up the courage to move his head around. He saw the river banks, and it was perfect to just go and lie there, but could he possibly swim against the current right now? Veemon bit his lips hard and moved his body, the pain that shot up his arm was so unbearable, it made him scream.

Veemon hit his lips harder and forced himself to move, he was fortunate that the bank was not too far away. He paddled again and again, each movement bringing a wave of agony upon him. Veemon winced, it was so close, and he had to do it! Despite the harsh complaining from his body he grabbed on the cold earth and with the last remnants of his strength hauled himself onto the soft river bank.

Veemon lay there panting heavily from the immense effort he had just made, it hurt. It hurt like hell. Even the panting and the breathing hurt! And now he just needed to rest and recover, when he could move, he will need to find help, and quickly too.

The physical suffering was great, but Veemon was relieved, he was happier, because the blackness that had weighed down on his mind had partially cleared away. Veemon felt much of his consciousness return, and it was an indescribably relieving feeling. _Just a few days_, _hopefully, I just need a few more days to recover._ Veemon thought to himself optimistically.

_...Father? ...what the heck are you?..._

* * *

Oh! I still am keeping secrets! I will reveal them later, just to keep you guys interested! Haha...

I am going to start on some things going on in the real world soon, just to give everyone else a part too, and also to make the story worth reading!

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	16. Chapter 16 Challenge of Knowledge

Hello, updates!

This chapter let Izzy play part of his own adventure. He is my favourite character, because I too am a hacker (and no, although I can, I don't send viruses around) and I rely more on knowledge than action. So I like his style.

Anyway, here goes...

* * *

**Chapter 16: Challenge of Knowledge**

"'This is extremely urgent, we need to meet together quickly, tell me all the dates when you are free and please reply ASAP. From Kari.' What do you think this means, Tentomon?" Izzy read through the message displayed on his beloved laptop, he considered the meanings of this urgent message while chewing a piece juicy watermelon.

"It means that something must be wrong and they need all our help." Tentomon picked up an orange and dug in.

"You know, it makes me feel sick every time I watch you eat an orange with the peel on." Izzy looked at Tentomon as he munched the orange as if it was an apple.

"Well, did you know that dried orange peel was used in both Japanese and Chinese herbal medicine? It's good for you."

"At the cost of great discomfort to the mouth too, you are just too lazy to peel it off, aren't you?"

"Well, I might consider your advice if I actually had hands to do it, heh-heh."

Something in the room created a spark and the light in Izzy's room went out, but not just that, the laptop and the fan have also switched themselves off.

"Huh? What's this?" Izzy looked around in the dark, it was only early in the evening but his room is always darker than normal.

"Power outages?" Tentomon did not seem to be bothered as much about the whole thing.

"No, this is strange, even without external power source; my laptop will still be working on its reserve batteries." Izzy checked the power charger's cable and found that they were connected. Confused, he looked outside the window.

"Tentomon... have a look at this!"

Tentomon jumped onto the window sill and looked out, if this was a power outage; it was a _very_ specific one. There was a circle that covered this area of residence where all electricity was out, but outside that circle, everything was normal. It was as if they were inside some kind of "dark zone", where all electrical tools have broken down.

"Something is definitely not right." Izzy watched many people come out of their apartments with some excitement to discuss what they think of the phenomenon, "We should get down there." He picked up his jacket and rushed out of the door with Tentomon behind him.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

_What?_ Izzy looked at his buzzing digi-vice, a sound he hadn't heard for a year now. "This is a digimon, fascinating... "

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Tentomon said to Izzy, he just knew it can't be good news.

Only seconds after what Tentomon said, the windows in the corridor shattered with a loud "BOOM" outside, the impact shook the ground, surprising and staggering Izzy.

_What the...!_ He quickly rushed down the remaining of the stairs and arrived outside; people were shouting and running away. The whole area was covered in dust and smoke, the beeping of the digi-vice grew louder.

"I think this is the reason why Kari and the others wanted to see us..." Tentomon readied himself as he sensed danger, there was a digimon around.

"This must the cause of the power outage, hmm... I wish I could record this and ask Gennai." Izzy pondered as he waited for the smoke to clear, "But wait, if Kari knew about this, then she should have already talked to Gennai..."

"Izzy! Concentrate!"

"Oh, sorry..."

"So you are the knowledge base of your group..."

The voice was so emotionless, it made Izzy's scalp tickle, he strained his sight and saw the attacker: yet another robed creature, it marched in unhurried steps, shrouded in a strange black light.

"What is that? Is it a digimon?" Izzy took out his digi-vice and checked on any available data for the thing. An image appeared, but it soon fuzzed out and disappeared.

"In taking you out, I will limit information transport between your group, therefore giving us a great advantage..." the creature continued speaking.

"Take me out? But... what are you?"

"Be careful, it doesn't just look like any digimon to me..." Tentomon turned to Izzy and gave him a nod, Izzy hesitated, but still nodded back. He pointed the digi-vice determinedly at Tentomon and shouted:

_Tentomon digivolve to..._

_Kabuterimon!_

The giant beetle stood there and stared at the uninvited guest, they hadn't fought together for a long time now, the prospect of another battle somewhat disheartened him.

"Do you believe your knowledge is vast? Do you believe that you have wisdom beyond comparison?" the being asked Izzy with its ever so creepy tone, "I am the voice of the arrogant; I am the dead end of perception. I am the nemesis of true knowledge, what am I?"

"Ignorance?" Izzy didn't even know why he bothered to answer.

"Correct... I am the Venom of Ignorance, the corrupter of one's mind and speech." Dozens of previously invisible zips opened themselves on the being's robe to reveal black endless gaps, but what was horrifying, was that the gaps were "alive", they churned and writhed as if chewing, as if there were dozens of "mouth" _everywhere_ all over the creature's sickening body, "I am the corroder of intelligence and understanding, and you shall fall before me just like any other."

Before either of the two could react, several of the "mouth" closed themselves and threw up streams of liquid towards the two, the foul smelling slime travelled through the air with loud whistles and splattered across the walls and floors in black smoking mess.

"Kabuterimon!" Instinct told Izzy to jump out of the way, but the narrow alley ways limited Kabuterimon's movement, he shrieked out in pain as the liquid splattered across one of his wings... and dissolved it in seconds!

_Find cover! Find cover! Quick!_ Ducking behind a thick bin, Izzy watched as Kabuterimon ran away from the creatures as soon as possible. Behind him, concrete and bricks alike dissolved into green stinking slime as the various "mouth" on its body spat the liquid around.

"Kabuterimon, how badly injured are you?"

"Nothing lethal, but I won't be able to fly."

"Find cover! Quickly! I need to know what it is!" Izzy flinched as he heard the liquid splash across the bin he was ducking behind, the smell of dissolving metal was almost unbearable. _What could this possibly be?_ Izzy didn't even dare to poke his head out to look, from the shadows, the creature was getting closer to him... _too close,_ he will have to rely on Kabuterimon to free him.

"Electro Shocker!"

The purple beam of energy rushed down towards the creature, doesn't matter whether it hit or not, this was Izzy's chance to run!

The street exploded with light as the beam made contact, Izzy dashed from his cover and ran to the opposite side of the alley way, he looked to his left and saw the robed being side jumped with cat-like grace, dodging the attack with ease, before...

"PSSSSTTT"

"Aahhh!" Izzy jumped behind a wall and wrenched his jacket off with all effort, the fabric sizzled and burnt, dissolving the clothes into a pool of goo in a matter of seconds, he was just in time.

"Are you hurt?!" Kabuterimon shouted from somewhere behind him.

"I'm fine! But we need a plan!"

"Give me a chance! I can easily defeat him!" Despite his inability to fly, Kabuterimon wanted to use height as his advantage. He clawed at a building, tested it before he was satisfied that the concrete would hold him, and then, using him insectile stealth, climbed onto the roof top without detection.

_Good one, _Izzy couldn't stop panting, _but..._

The robed being walked down the alley way slowly, its "mouths" randomly spewing its corrosive venom over walls and pavements. Izzy did not like the fact that he was always waiting, it didn't feel safe to remain passive like this while waiting for Kabuterimon to act... but still, he needed to observe a bit more, he needed a plan, and a plan required more observation.

The footsteps drew closer... Izzy waited, slightly holding his breath, not that it will do him any good. He waited for Kabuterimon to execute his plan, whatever that may have been...

_Hurry up! _His heart beat faster and faster and he heard to squirting of liquid and thumping of footsteps on soft soil. Izzy leaned against the wall harder, silently cursing himself for running into a dead end. He can now see the shadows of the creature marching slowly towards the small alleyway he was standing at, cold sweat dropped down his face.

_What are you doing?_ Izzy desperately looked around for anything that could help him; this was where people had left their cleaning equipments, mops, brooms and a few bottles of disinfectants. _How is this any help for me?!_ Izzy grew increasingly desperate, the thing is almost here!

He scrambled through his pocket for anything and everything, the only things he found were some matches and Universal Indicator Papers from the experiment he did. Izzy saw the black corners of the creature's robe as it walked ever so slowly to where he was, like a wraith waiting to claim its victim's soul. Fear forming knots in his stomach and made him feel sick.

The mouth on its leg opened up and spat a stream of venom towards Izzy, he only looked at the thing for one second, and that was the only time he had before he turned back in the corner without having half of his face burnt off.

_What is this?_ He panted heavily; the liquid ate away the concrete on the wall and smelt horrible, _what is this substance? It is a solvent... that means!_ He quickly took out the Universal Indicator paper and shoved it into the liquid. In that one split second before the paper was eaten away, Izzy caught the slight glimpse of colour change, _that's it!_

He scrambled around the pile of bottles desperately, _come on! It has got to be here_, Izzy snatched at a bottle of bleach and torn the lid off. He held the bottle at ready, waiting for the right moment to arrive. The shadow came closer and closer, Izzy could hear the repeated churning of the zips that made up the "teeth" of the "mouths".

_Okay, I can do this... I have to do this_... Izzy picked up a bin lid and held it as a shield as he jumped up and charged at the creature with a yell, it had to happen quickly! The moment he came out he felt the solvent splatter across the metal bin lid, instantly burning holes through it.

It was the test of his reflexes, Izzy threw the bottle of bleach at the thing and dropped the melting bin lid, all in quick succession, all within one second, but he was still left trapped in the dead end, because there was no way Izzy was going anywhere near that thing with corrosive acid all over the floor around him.

_Yes! It worked! Even though the solvent was data, when it came into the real world, it still works with the chemical formulas! The alkali neutralized its acid!_ Izzy watched excitedly as the bleach splattered into the "mouths" on its body, the contact sent the creature shaking and twisting as the "mouths" writhed violently and closed themselves tight shut. Purple and green goo oozed from all the gaps uncontrollably, but that was as far as it went...

Izzy took a step back; he didn't know what to do next. Running? No, the floor was covered in acid. There was nothing else he can do but to rely on Kabuterimon, but where the heck is he?!

"That was fluent; you have disabled many of my frontal weapons." The creature spoke again, despite its fits it had no problem speaking normally, "But you have not beaten me, and I deduce that you have no further plan of attack, so this will be your demise."

"Izzy! Hide!"

Suddenly, the fire hydrant behind the robed creature burst forth with waves of chilling water and soaked the being, Izzy quickly returned to where he was hiding to avoid getting wet, _what the heck are you doing?_

"Your attempted offensive is pointless." The "mouths" that were untouched by the bleach on the being's back threw up the repulsive juice towards Kabuterimon who was standing on top of the building behind them. Kabuterimon totally did not expect the attack without the creature turning round, and it hit him!

He jumped away as quickly as possible but that did not stop a splatter of acid landing on his two right arms, the beetle hissed and shrieked as data flew from his body and the lower right arm completely disappeared.

Enraged, Kabuterimon executed the final step to his plan: with his left claw he slashed at a power line and watched as it fell to where the robed being was. Electricity crackled with blinding showers of white sparks as both the water and the robed being was electrocuted by the severed power line. Izzy closed his eyes and covered his ears and the sparks exploded again and again, bright flashes lit everything with a pale, deathly light.

The robed creature lit up with red hot energy, all sorts of gases evaporated from its body, with the most ear piercing screech Izzy had ever heard in his life, the creature imploded and was torn apart inside out.

Silence finally arrived, the dusky twilight covered the wrecked street as the acidic fluids disappeared as data, the only activity was the occasional crackle of the power lines lying in the pools of water.

"Izzy?" Tentomon barely managed to fly, but it still made it to where Izzy was covering in the corner, he held his head in his hands, too shocked and awed to move. "Don't worry, it's gone. I am sorry I didn't act faster, but I couldn't burst the pipes properly."

Izzy slowed down his rapid breathing; his hands were shaking uncontrollably, "That... was... AMAZING! Even though you used me as bait, but you killed that thing with electrolysis! The energy transformed the acid into hydrogen gas and..." He stopped as he suddenly realized the condition of Tentomon, "Huh? Your arm! We need to heal you!"

"We will do that with the digi-vice, but this is very urgent." Tentomon was evidently quite traumatized by the unexpected battle, "We need to warn the others! Now!"

"Yeah… Yes! We will do that!" Izzy looked at the remnants of the battle, which was quickly dissipating, "But there is one problem..."

He pointed at the pool of electrocuted water, which flooded most of the damaged street, "How are we getting out?"

* * *

A pure battle chapter, but at least that was done. Oh, I love playing with acids and other dangerous chemicals, couldn't help but give one of the big bad that power.

More is coming this way, sorry I didn't include Veemon in this chapter, but I will in the next one!

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	17. Chapter 17 Recollection

Right, hello again...

I had been doing my course work all this time, which is why I haven't updated, I am really sorry for this massive update gap. But at least now I am back, and we will be seeing more of Veemon.

Finally, you can read on.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Recollection**

_I really don't want to get up..._ Veemon can't remember how long he had lain on that river bank just waiting for his pain to subside and enjoy the slightest bit of sunshine to dry him off. He knew he had to get help, but the prospect of getting up and getting hurt again was not particularly appealing to him, especially considering that he had only just recovered from his fall.

Now he thinks about it, he felt stupid... _how could I have even considered deleting myself?_

And then he felt sad... he thought about how he had talked to Gatomon, it made him feel guilty, even though she had cheated on him (or so he thought), Veemon still felt that he shouldn't have offended her like that. But it was too late; he could never face her again.

Veemon lay there pondering, he thought about the good times they had, the ice creams, the running around and playing in the theme park, her kiss...

Veemon blushed but that only caused tears to fall from the corner of his closed eyes.

_No_, Veemon shook the thoughts out of his head, he needed to concentrate on what he needed to do right now. So much had happened, so much had changed him. It was still hard to believe how much had happened in the time of a month. Veemon had totally lost the cheer and spirit that characterized him... _but that's no problem, I just need to work on that and get it back now won't I!_

He forced himself to jump up, slightly winced at the pain but otherwise fine, well, if you could count split shoulder blades and cut tendons fine. What really made him happy was that he had mentally recovered, after all this time, he felt optimistic, a feeling that he had lost and didn't even bother to notice.

There was a path way from here; it led into yet another dense woodland forest. Veemon considered it, there could be anything in there, in his state right now he would be easy prey if any hostile digimons showed up. But oh well, what choice did he have? It was not like he could get out of here without going into the woods.

With new found determination, Veemon walked into the forest.

**In the Real World:**

Davis pounded his pillow with his fists ferociously and hissed angrily, he had tried! He had tried so hard! He wanted to attempt to scribble the things he knew on the ground or something but the drug even stopped him from doing that.

What did Gennai mean? Gennai said that when the circumstances are fit the drug will be automatically regurgitated, well, wasn't that a good enough circumstance?

Great, now everybody is frustrated.

Davis spent a few hours wandering through the forest trying to chase down Veemon, but to absolutely no avail. He ended up hopelessly lost and felt ashamed when he had to open the digi-portal and come back to the real world.

Davis still wanted to look for him again though, even though he knew perfectly well that even with the help of the digi-vice, Davis would not be able to find Veemon if Veemon kept moving away from him, which is what he was doing.

Still, it is worth a try, considering Davis's trade mark stubbornness, he will never give up, how could he rest while his partner and friend for life is in danger out there? Davis didn't want to get the others involved, he will do it by himself, one way or another.

But wait... Veemon ran away from him... What if Veemon didn't want to see him? What if... what if Veemon is getting away on purpose? Davis could only hope to imagine how betrayed Veemon must have felt when he "refused" to give him the vital pieces of information, what if Veemon has finally and genuinely snapped?

_No, Veemon wouldn't do that_, Davis had told himself that again and again for _so _many times. Doesn't matter what Veemon thinks of him, Veemon will always be his partner and friend. Davis will not leave his best friend out there by himself, of course he won't!

_I will find him! And… I can only hope things work out… somehow…_

**Lost in the Forest:**

_Well that's lucky, I just managed to stumble into the biggest forests I have ever been to… on the verge of breaking down…_

Veemon walked and walked inside this strange yet exotic forest, it was so dense, the trees are huge, it would require a dozen Veemon(s) to wrap around one of them. Their leaves thick and green, almost totalling blotching out the noon-day sun, only letting few speckles of sunshine down in rays.

What was strange about it, was that it was lifeless.

Normal birds and other small critters are not real in the digital world; they are just fragments of data that are scattered across the world, acting as decorations to nature with their running about and singing. Even so, it was strange to go in any forest in the digital world without seeing some squirrels or hearing some little birds.

This forest was different, it was totally, _totally_ silent. There is no sound, not even the wind as it passed through the forest and rustled through the leaves. Veemon could clearly hear his own footsteps and heavy breathing, even his heart beat. It was an exile, a forgotten garden left out of the steps of time. Veemon wondered where the tracks even came from.

He looked around, there was not the slightest hint of hostility, the forest was something beyond tranquil, it was empty, yet it wasn't. The trees and the grass, eternal enigmas forever standing there, watching and growing as life of the outside passed by.

From nowhere, there came a melody.

_Singing?_ That was the last thing Veemon expected to find from this place.

The chorus sang as one, the voices were indistinguishable. But the melody was indescribably beautiful, it sounded almost enchanted. He listened, its hypnotic rhythm gently guiding his legs toward the source of the song.

Not far ahead of him, there was a small clearing; thousands of flameless lights of all colours hung from the hundreds of branches from the nearby trees, decorating the entire place with their colourful twinkles as if burning stars in a sky of dark green. It was a magnificent sight; Veemon could only begin to imagine what this place must look like at night.

He arrived at the centre of the village and stopped, it confused him, there was no one here, yet the singing did not stop, it never did.

"It has been long… it has been arduous"

Veemon jumped slightly as every voice from the singing directed themselves at him; even then, the singing was not interrupted. He looked around nervously, trying to find out where the voices were coming from, but somehow, the voices reassured him, it didn't frighten him… it made him feel safe…

"Do not hate them… for they too have suffered… do not hate her… for she never meant for it to be"

"Hello? I´m just passing through, I don´t mean any harm, please come out." Veemon looked around, there was nobody there, but the singing was definite, it flowed through the air, enveloping everything that heard it. The tune was so entrancing; it was as if it was visible ribbons of rainbow-like colour, shining as they flew through the prismatic air.

"We have all waited… we have all endured… for our legacy is not finished, our own greed have destroyed the lives of countless others, and even in death we have not atoned."

"I'm sorry, I don't understand, please, somebody talk me."Veemon have really had enough with riddles, he begged but there was no response.

"But it will all end soon… one way or another… whether we fall or we rise, it is in your hands…"

Veemon shivered at these seemingly ambiguous comments, in his head he was making up all sorts of crazy explanations, he had hoped none of them were true… "Please, I need help, someone, somebody please come out." Veemon looked around for any clues of the whereabouts of anything alive, but nothing was moving, nothing at all.

"So do us all… so do us all…"

The lights dimmed and flickered, a sudden gale burst forth from the depth of the forest and threatened to knock Veemon over, he covered his eyes with his hands before a forceful surge of energy slammed into his body, this time knocking him down flat onto the ground.

_Umph!..._ His vision blurred violently, his ears rang with static noises and a metallic taste filled his mouth. The air was knocked out of Veemon's lungs as he fell onto the ground, images once again flashing through his head.

…

Two waves of digimons charged forward, it was a familiar scene, a battlefield with both sides consisting of ExVeemons, Flamedramons, Raidramons and many others. The Veemons were not the only digimons fighting there, amidst the chaos, Veemon spotted flying Aquilamons, hulking Ankylomons, Greymons, Garurumons, and even Angemons fighting. They charged into each other while firing pot-shots relentlessly, every now and then an agonizing scream would be let out from one of the sides and data would crumble and perish.

_Why are they fighting? And how come there are so many of them?_

The commotion once again overwhelmed Veemon, he could only watch as less and less digimons remained, clouds full of data flew away into the sky, however, for some strange reason, lots of dead digimons did not disintegrate, their bodies remained, but they were clearly dead.

"We were blessed, same as you, with the gift to harvest the powers of the mighty armour digi-eggs. With its power we prospered, we built and created, we brought life as our race bloomed." The voices once again spoke as one in Veemon's head, "But unlike the Armadillomons and the Hawkmons, we were not sated. We wanted more, everybody wanted more… so we fought… we took. Overshadowing the life we have built and created, we destroyed and brought endless death."

Night came faster than it actually was, only serving as a mood light to show the gruesome carnage left behind on the battle field, Veemon would have been horrified, but he had seen this same vision so many times he hardly twitched.

"Digimons were deleted and reborn, the moment they hatched they were immediately forced to digivolve and learn to kill, only to be killed in return, and this vicious cycle starts again. We have fought for so long, we had already forgotten the purpose of the war in the first place, the thrill of violence and the blood thirst has taken over our lives, we knew nothing but to fight, kill and die."

But now the vision did not end where it normally did, it continued, as if a hidden away block of memory was suddenly unlocked in Veemon's mind. He saw nine ExVeemons, beastly yet slim figures walking as silhouettes in the moon light; they treaded towards the centre of the battlefield and laid down a round object on the floor. The nine of them stood in a circle around the object as they lifted their arms up and chanted ominously. Their voice grew louder and louder, its tension increasing, until suddenly, purple lightning burst forth from their bodies and swirled around the round object like a whirlpool. Sparks crackled furiously as the bodies of the slain digimons broke down into data and were dragged straight into the shining object in the centre of the eldritch cistern, which can now be made out as a digi-egg.

"So we fought and fought, killing and be killed, again and again, we had become war-mongering savages. In this land we ravaged forward, where we went, life extinguished. There was no hope, there was no bravery, there was no friendship or trust. For nobody had the chance to win, nobody had the choice to fight or not, they merely did it because they had to, it was all they knew. Your dearest friend in this life may very well become your nemesis in their next life. Any hope for the end of the war was only the key for a greater door of disappointment."

_Of course! The Veemon race fought for digi-eggs and everyone suffered for it! I was created as a weapon to end this suffering… I guess the results didn't go too well. _Veemon watched in amazement as cracks showed across the egg, light emitted from within, something was about to hatch. But Veemon knew that, he knew whose egg that was.

"Until finally, you were created. Your allies cheered as it was clear they have obtained the Deus Ex Machina to win the war, while your enemies despaired as you tore through their ranks. But, everybody was in for a surprise…"

A DemiVeemon jumped out of the egg, it felt strange, for Veemon to be looking at his younger self. But this was not, not at all the DemiVeemon he had seen in the mirrors, the DemiVeemon did not look… _right_. It instantly warp digivolved into a fearsome ExVeemon, within seconds of its birth, it already looked seasoned and ready for battle.

"Not only did you kill your enemies efficiently and mercilessly, you turned on your allies. In fact, it was as if you made it personal for you to track down and destroy _everyone_ responsible for the war. You succeeded in no time, everyone was dead, and they were not reborn, because they are in you…"

Veemon jumped as he heard the last sentence, he knew what it meant. He knew damn well what it meant, but he didn't want to, he didn't want to accept it at all. _I… I absorbed everyone's data? That was the ability I was made with… right?_

"We have suffered; we have all suffered, we have been through the turmoil of all these years of waiting. We are what are left of the Veemon race, we are the remnant data of those who died and were not reborn. Our torment is almost over, whether you shall succeed or you shall fail, we will be with you, one way or another…"

The hallucination was at an end, once again his vision flashed and blurred as Veemon threatened to pass out.

"Please… free us…"

Veemon abruptly opened his eyes as he returned to his body, panting and sweating from the experience yet again.

… It was silent.

He lifted his head up and looked around, rather missing the pleasant melody that was stuck in his head. What he saw startled him: everything was gone; he was not a forest, but a huge plain of grass, an expanse of green stretching all the way towards the horizon.

As he stared, a strong sense of déjà vu struck him, _this was the battlefield!_ He had somehow wandered onto the battlefield where so many of his race and others had fought and died all that time ago… the place where he was born…

Veemon jumped up, and yet another surprise struck him, _I feel… no pain!_ Though he could hardly believe it, he understood what it meant. Those lights are data after all, they were linked to him, this miracle was only granted due Veemon's reawakened regenerative abilities.

It was a chilling thought, if this is how convenient his powers were…

Veemon shook the temptation out of his head. At the very least, he no longer limped, and it did not hurt like hell when he swung his arms. Veemon looked at himself with the biggest smile he had in months.

He lifted his head up to the sky and whispered quietly:

"Thank you…"

* * *

Well, I really have to apologize again for this massive delay, but the course work really was quite long. Now that I have finally finished it, I will be writing more of my beloved fic again, yay!

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	18. Chapter 18 On the Move

Hello again!

I know I have been slacking off with the updates, but I seem to have a bit of problem getting inspirations about story progression. But here I am, trying to do more.

This is getting closer to the end, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 18: On the Move**

Veemon laughed in joy as he ran around again and again in circles like a child in this sea of grass. How happy did he feel right now, with those blasted injuries gone, he could finally run freely once again!

The wind blew over the plain and rushed over the grass, sending them back and forth as if waves of an endless ocean. Veemon laid down and let the 3-feet tall grass drown him out from view, enjoying every bit of the scenery. He would have relaxed a bit more if not for this place's bloody history. Despite the fact that this was once a scorched battlefield, it is now a place of peacefulness and tranquillity. Veemon hasn't seen anything much more beautiful than an endless plain of grass tenderly handled by the wind joining a clear blue, star-filled evening sky. A full moon was just barely visible. Veemon felt so content to just lie there and fall asleep.

That is, until someone disturbed him…

_Ahh! The headaches!_

He shook violently as once again his mind was taken over by those maddening flashes.

"Ouch! You really have to stop that!" Veemon cried out loud, he knew that he was face to face with his "father" in that room again.

"Oh… I am sorry." The old ExVeemon had his cloak back on once again, he spoke in that ever so solemn tone, "I didn't know how much annoyance this method of contact would have caused you, but I am afraid it is the only way I can communicate with you."

"OK, I get it!" Veemon shook his head and looked at him, the shadowed ExVeemon was hovering in front of him, patiently waiting for Veemon to speak first, "So, what did you want to tell me? Or rather, I wanted to ask you something."

"Hmph…" the figure quietly chuckled as if in amusement.

"What's so funny?" Veemon was slightly irritated, although for no apparent reason.

"Oh, nothing, I am just being over sentimental… I just… ahh, never mind." The ExVeemon turned away as if embarrassed, mixed in with a bit of sadness.

"Well, I know you are sentimental, but tell me anyway."

"I just… thought and imagined what kind of life we would have led together. What kind of good times we would have had if… if they didn't rob me of everything I held dear… anyway, I am no good at these things… what were you going to ask?"

Veemon paused for a second, he had a hard time trying to relate to this strange ExVeemon that he hadn't even met for very long, and in all honestly, Veemon didn't really trust him. But something about him just did not seem to show any type of hostility. Besides, if what he said about his imprisonment in here was true, the least Veemon could do to comfort him is to listen to his story. "How did you end up in here? Why is it you are trapped in here when you should have been deleted? I have found out that there was a war and all that, but I want to know a bit more about your story."

"That's quite a lot you want to know…" The ExVeemon paced around and thought for a bit, "Hmm… my story. No one had ever asked me that, I don't really to how to say it. The whole story, I will wait until you regain your memories. But as to how I ended up here, it's because those nine things killed me. But I guess they just weren't satisfied with death as a punishment."

As Veemon listened, an object caught his attention: it was the sword that he was stabbed with; the blade was lying on the floor not far from him, looking all abandoned. Something looked different about it though… the blade had dulled; it has lost its shine. And also, strangely, the runes carved on the flat of the blade had also disappeared.

"He killed me with that blade." The ExVeemon pointed at the sword and said: "It was their way of an execution: I was to suffer a fate worse than death itself. They absorbed and trapped my data within the blade. This room here was supposed to be where I would be imprisoned for the rest of eternity, and to further humiliate me they put the digital copy of the very blade they killed me with in this same room. That blade is in fact my only way out of here, but since I'm already trapped, it's not possible for me to actually use it."

"But if you are trapped in here, how could you have made contact with the outside."

"Now that, was the only feat I was ever proud of in my entire life." The ExVeemon turned and looked at Veemon with his pensive eyes, "They did not anticipate it, but I managed to stay partially free from their curse, I managed to keep as much of my data out of the blade as possible, and thus, I am still somewhat existing. Although I am trapped in here and could not materialize anywhere else other than Gennai's 'special' house, I can still make contacts with others through dreams, such as right now."

In other words, it was his sheer willpower that stopped him from being fully devoured by the curse, Veemon wondered to himself: what desire could the ExVeemon have had to stay so completely focused?

"Then, you could find your way out." Veemon looked at him half doubted, there was still something he was hiding.

"I… I did… through you…" The ExVeemon looked down, as if in shame, "The only way I could have freed myself is to transfer my remnant data through the sword into another digimon that had partially the same data as me… and that was you…"

_So, that makes a bit more sense, _Veemon thought for a second, but he had a bit of trouble trying to forgive the ExVeemon for causing him so much pain, although… if he was in the same position, what would he have done?

"I am so, very sorry for the suffering I have brought down upon you. I knew that transferring my data to you would awaken some of your better hidden away memories. But I did not anticipate how badly the effects would really be… I will not ask for forgiveness but believe me, I didn't mean for any of it to happen."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Veemon was a little impatient with his constant annoying apologies, but then, a thought struck him, "Wait, if you are free, then why are you still in here?"

The ExVeemon paused for a second, he was about to make a request, which he knew perfectly well was a bit too much to ask, "…This is what I called you for, for you to understand everything, you need all your memories, I could describe it to you, but it is better if you gained it more accurately."

"Meaning?"

"What you see here is all of my remnant data …I… will have to connect all of my remaining data to yours; it is the only way for you to truly regain the memories… and powers. With it, you will finally be able to make your choice… whatever that may be…"

Veemon pondered in thoughts, was he ready? He has only just recovered and he didn't really want to have another fit with visions. Also because of the fact that he did not like the feeling of two consciousnesses in one body, especially not after the traumatic experiences he has already had. "Could this wait?"

"Of course, I wasn't planning on it right now. You need to recover and your friends need to get ready, maybe you should go back and help them." The ExVeemon sounded rather glad that the previous conversation was over.

Veemon didn't really want to go back to the real world; he needed more time to think… he didn't even want to begin to imagine what he will have to say to everyone.

"Anyway, I will not keep you in here any longer. Go, and rest, while you could."

Before Veemon could act, the splitting headache rushed over his conscious and pushed him through a cascade of blinding visions and deafening noises before returning to his body.

_Ow! Ow! Ow!_ Veemon shook his head again and again; this whole process was really annoying.

After a minute of dizzy mental struggling, Veemon settled back down, enjoying the comfort of the bed of grass which he was lying upon once again, letting the cold sweat covering his body to dry off. He thought about whether to go back to the real world or not, _I will have to do it eventually…_ Veemon then started thinking about what to say, to _anyone_ really. Especially Davis and Gatomon… Veemon still had mixed feelings about what had happened that day.

It was annoying, he was way too curious, after all that he had been through, Veemon really wanted to know the history of this whole thing. Who the heck is this mysterious digimon behind all this anyway? He wanted to know more, but he didn't really like the ExVeemon's idea…

_…Do I ever get a choice?_

**In the Real World:**

Matt stood next to Gabumon in the middle of the road, staring at their robed opponent not very far away from them. There were several car crashes all around them, enough to scare off any other driver coming this way, Matt could only hope the drivers and passengers got out in time, because he couldn't possibly go and help them.

The robed creature moved forward a step; Matt tensed up at the action.

_What the heck is this thing to cause so much havoc?_

Matt and Gabumon were on their way to make it to Tai and Kari's house when they received the message via their digi-vice, more is the pity, because he was thinking on visiting Sora first. But at the bus stop, what did they see?

This…

A dozen cars crashed into each other, trees and walls everywhere. Some even set alight and smoking. People within a mile were scared off; the few ambulances have all mysteriously crashed as they made their way to the sight of chaos.

These cars were taken out so efficiently and cleanly, Matt didn't even know what had happened to them.

He still doesn't, but at least he now knows who is responsible for it.

It was clearly hostile, Izzy had included in his message that everybody had a chance of being attacked by a digimon of this exact description, but as to what the creature really is, he didn't specify.

The creature took one more step; Matt snapped, totally losing his cool because of the carnage: "Tell me what the heck you are! You are gonna pay for the damage you've done!"

"So you care, about others…"

"It speaks?" Gabumon was seemingly surprised at that.

"You are a pack, you rely upon each other, and you have a bond, a bond which you call: 'friendship'." The creature continued speaking as it walked closer and closer to the two, its robed arms folded across its stomach, its hood totally blocking out its face.

It was obviously referring to Matt's crest; he looked puzzled at this strange introduction, "DON'T IGNORE ME!"

"I am just like you, I am a bond, I tie two groups of people together, but I am also the antipode of you, because there is no joy in my domain, there is only endless rivalry, what am I?" The creature stopped, it lifted its head and revealed its "face": a hole of blackness underneath its hood with absolutely nothing inside.

_What the heck is this thing doing? Just what does it think it is?_ Matt took out his digi-vice and aimed at Gabumon.

"Enmity. I am the bitter Sting of Enmity, that cursed emotion of violence you are willing to weave onto your nemesis, I am its embodiment, and I am the mirror that will reflect that very pain precisely back at you." On its "face", a pattern made of light appeared in the shape of a circle and cross, it quickly moved and folded over each other in the centre of its "face"…

Into a cross-hair…

"DODGE!" Matt's first reaction proved to be correct.

A needle thin beamed of light travelled through the air in the blink of an eye and shot itself at Gabumon; it made contact with a heart-wrenching shatter. Gabumon winched and tripped as his yellow horn was shattered into pieces, the silvery-trail of light came directly from the creature's "face" and aimed at Gabumon in-between the eyes, and it would have passed straight through Gabumon's head if not for the horn in the way.

Without thinking for one more second, Gabumon bit back the pain and jumped behind a car for cover. Matt was also quick to move, he was just in time as the creature turned to face him.

The circle and cross folded and built a crosshair in less than a second, Matt shuddered as he dashed behind an oak tree just in time before feeling some hairs on the back of his head getting shredded off by the "bullet", cold sweat dropped down from his forehead as he felt the shot miss by mere inches.

This thing was a sniper! And it aimed onto its victim with insane speed and accuracy! Both Matt and Gabumon were pinned behind their cover with apparently no way of moving out without getting thoroughly pierced.

_This is going to be interesting…_Matt thought to himself sarcastically, his sarcasm was almost hysterical.

* * *

I am sorry if this is a bit slow paced, but please keep reading, more and more information will be revealed.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	19. Chapter 19 Disturbance

Hello!

Here come updates, more answers to be revealed, and more characters to be beaten up… I suppose I have to count myself sadistic, I mean, I shattered Gabumon's goddamned horn, it just gives me some kind of twisted pleasure to torture characters like this…

And also to answer some questions: it is simply impossible for two of the nine beings to bio-merge anywhere near each other into the real world, two of them can enter the world at once, but at different places relatively far away from each other, which is why they can't gang up on the characters… lucky for you, Matt.

Here goes.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Disturbance**

Matt leaned against the thick oak tree hard as he panted; the tree was his cover and only thing separating him from certain death. He waited for either the robed creature or Gabumon to act. While at the same time, Gabumon was crouched low behind a car as the deafening pain from his shattered horn disorientated him, also waiting for either Matt or his opponent to act.

The situation fell into a solid stalemate. _The adversary have a higher level of power, I can't possibly win like this._ Matt knew that Gabumon needed to digivolve, but in Gabumon's current state…

No one was moving, the robed creature was standing in the middle of the road like a statue, apparently working up some sort of plan to lure either of them out.

Matt was confused by this silence, surely the creature should be walking towards them or something, but nothing is moving… He looked across the car where Gabumon was taking cover behind… Matt swallowed, he had to do this!

Matt slowly lifted his hand up with the digi-vice clutched tightly in his gloved hand, he could not see exactly where Gabumon was, but he was pointing in the right direction. He muttered:

_Gabumon digivolve to…_

Before he could even finish the sentence, Matt heard a shrill sound as something tore through the air and a flash of light flew across his field of vision…

It happened so fast, he didn't even realize what happened.

"Ehh!" Matt quickly withdrew his hand, dropping the digi-vice in the process as another trail of light skimmed the tree bark.

Matt held his hand and shivered as the sharp pain shot up his arm, he could see a clear hole through his palm! He felt tears well up in his eyes as the wound seared with pain, blood started to cover his glove. Matt looked away and cursed as he tried to find the digi-vice which he had dropped, the digi-vice was undamaged, but it was several steps away from him, out of the range of his cover. Seeing how quick that thing was, he couldn't possibly take the risk.

Gabumon was worried sick, he heard Matt's cry, but he could not act! He wanted to know what was going on, what could he do? That blasted thing was just standing in there waiting for either of them to pop their head out, and the moment they do so they are done for.

The scorching heat of the sun beat down on his skin; Gabumon was willing take a bold step just to see if there was anything going on. He slowly and almost reluctantly lifted his trebling right paw up, shakily moving it out into the day light where he knew something would happen…

Did it see him?

The sudden but expected whistle flew through the air and shredded the glove of Gabumon's right hand, he instinctively withdrew his paw and panted, that made him jump even though he was expecting it.

But this proved something… or at least it nearly did. Gabumon was unhurt; it was his fur coat that was damaged, not his paw itself…

_Does that mean… this creature shoots whatever thing that moves as quickly as he sees it? In that case…_

Gabumon picked up a handful of crushed gravel by the crashed car he was leaning on and chucked it into the open. He got just what he was hoping for: the second the sand flew out, a bright steam of light flashed out and lashed out after the sands.

_Aha! _The strategy was clear, but there was no way of executing it… he needed to contact Matt, but shouting it out to him will just give everything away…

_Damn… what can I do?_

Matt jumped as he heard footsteps, it walked towards him… he is going to have to walk around the tree in circles to avoid a direct line of sight with the creature, but to do so he is going to have to rely completely on his sense of hearing…

But actually, this may be his chance to run from his cover and find Gabumon. Yes, he will do that…

The steps came, closer and closer… _which way is he gonna go?_

Step by step… it shifted, paused slightly, Matt strained his hearing… his whole survival could depend upon this next move…

For a short pause, as if deciding which way to go, it shifted, Matt looked around to see a slight flicker of shadow…

_To the left!_

He stood up and ran to his right as fast as his reflexes allowed him, this could work! Matt's legs hit the ground hard as he jerked to his side to pick up the digi-vice…

That one moment he glanced back at the creature, just a glimpse…

_… _It had been walking backwards all this time! It was looking straight at him!

_Too late to dodge… no, have to try!_ He was so close to the cover! Matt did the first thing he could think of: roll to the side.

Matt stumbled and skidded across the grounds, taking patches of skin off all over his body as he hit the hard concrete. But the creature did not hesitate; it shot at Matt 4 times in quick succession, every shot count, every shot hit.

"MATT!" Gabumon cried out furiously as Matt summoned up enough strength to crawl behind the car they are now both taking cover behind. Matt collapsed and leaned against the metal door as he groaned with pain. There was a hole on his left arm, both thighs and his right shoulder. And they were bleeding, quite badly. He had actually been very lucky, the shots missed the vital parts, but if the battle dragged on for too long…

Gabumon was mad; he had not seen his friends injured for a long time, and now that Matt was hurt so badly, that thing was going to pay!

The sharp clang of metal was heard again and again as the creature shot at the car repeatedly. Gabumon jumped as he realized: _it's shooting the engine!_ They have to get away before it explodes!

He glanced worryingly at the half-conscious Matt, if they jumped out of cover now, they will be dead. _No, I have to protect Matt!_ A sudden burst of blue light surrounded Gabumon and blinded everything in sight as he digivolved into Garurumon.

The thing stopped and looked expectantly into the light, could it see anything in there? Never the less, it anticipated Garurumon's move.

Garurumon leaped over the car and prepared to pounce at the creature, at the same moment the beam of light flashed from its "face" and travelled towards Garurumon faster than any eye could follow, but Garurumon had anticipated that too.

Immediately after the leap, Garurumon jerked to the side, it would not have been fast enough, he knew that, he had to be hit, just somewhere…

Garurumon bit down and held his breath as the bullet shredded the tissue on the knee of his right foreleg, even though he was ready for it, the pain was still mind-blowing sharp.

But that did not stop him, the Garurumon charged at the being full speed, fangs ready to rend and claws ready to tear! Although their distance was only a few steps away, that small distance was still enough to get him killed.

The creature followed up to his initial attack quickly with a barrage of slower and less-powerful pot-shots. Garurumon's self-preservation senses forced him to stop and defend himself, he used the only attack he could think off, but considering the creature's abilities… was it even good enough?

"Ice Wall!"

A glacial screen shielded Garurumon's form being directly honey-combed, but the wall was not good enough, it did not survive through the onslaught of these light bullets. Garurumon bitterly learned the fact that his defensive had failed as the bullets bounced off the shattered ice wall and flew into his body from all sides, the crushing pain felt like his body was being sliced and diced by the tiny shrapnel.

_Mustn't… give up…_ Garurumon jumped away to cower behind the nearest object he could find: an ice cream can. His blue and white fur was now red as blood drenched the coat. The creature followed the injured Garurumon, its demeanour a victorious hunter tracking down its maimed prey.

Garurumon shivered with the burning agony and closed his eyes; the sensation could best be described as being endlessly showered by liquid metal. The bullets that got him were not concentrated, it did not penetrate his body, but it was deep enough, his muscles have totally failed him… _need… to… move…_

"NOW!" Matt's cry echoed through the air as it caught both Garurumon's and the creature's attention. The thing quickly turned around and shot at the brown object as it popped out of the cover from behind the car. The bullet shredded whatever that thing was… but Garurumon knew it!

_Yes! _Matt must have seen the gravel Gabumon chucked to test the creature and worked out Gabumon's strategy!He forced his complaining body to stand up rigid and focus at his target against the blinding pain, the creature was about to turn back to Garurumon before Matt threw another glove with a sudden yell to catch its attention. It only took a second for it to shoot and destroy the object, but that was enough… that was all the time Garurumon needed.

"Slamming Attack!"

Pure adrenaline fuelled Garurumon's body as he tackled the creature down with the force of a driving truck, the creature dropped onto the ground and quickly aimed at Garurumon again, but he saw that coming, Garurumon slammed its head aside with a quick and powerful swipe of his claw before battering its head into the ground with a stump of its foot.

Garurumon stood over the being and let out a blood churning roar, it punted the creature's head with its massive paw again and again until the fabric of its hood mangled together and mashed into sludge. He sank his eager fangs into the creature's neck before savagely severing the connecting of head and body. With what's left of Garurumon's strength, he proceeded to tear the creature's torso apart with both fang and claw, Garurumon slashed at the limping body again and again, the black-ooze like data gathered into a pool underneath its body, the pieces of its robe and whatever was inside splattered across the ground and Garurumon's chest and forelegs. He didn't want to stop; it was as if he would never be sure it's dead if he stopped.

Finally… it started dissipating. Normal senses abruptly returned to Garurumon, who is now Gabumon, almost as quickly as it had left him. The torturous pain returned with it as well… he forgot something… _wait, Matt!_

Gabumon dragged his complaining body behind him as he found Matt, who had crawled away from the car that was on the verge of exploding. Matt desperately tried to call the ambulance using his cell phone.

"Matt…" Gabumon collapsed next to Matt and laid down on the ground, it still hurt…

"Gabumon… we'll be alright…" Matt panted heavily as he heard the siren of the ambulance cars not far in the distance, "T.K…. T.K., I need to warn him… We need to warn… everybody… now…"

"Matt… Matt?" Gabumon jumped up and shook Matt as he passed out from the blood loss, Gabumon was worried sick, "Matt, wake up!" He checked Matt's breathing and heart beat… it was OK…

_Come on! Come on, get here quick!_ Gabumon ignored his own injuries and waited so, so anxiously as the sirens drew closer.

**In the Digital World:**

Davis stood on the cliff where the digi-vice had led him to, the directions told him that Veemon was still straight ahead…

_Could Veemon possibly have…?_ Davis suddenly feared for what Veemon might have done, _nah… no way, Veemon won't do that, never._

But that meant he would have to find some way to cross the river, and that could be quite troublesome.

There was a sudden rustling sound through the air, gale blew through the forest and pushed Davis back, he yelled as it almost pushed him off the cliff.

Something appeared, and it was at the worst possible moment. Davis turned and stared in horror at the flicker of lades that twirled around midair in the pattern of a five pointed star, standing in front of it, was the robed creature that had nearly killed Veemon. Davis could not run, for behind him was a twenty metre plunge into the valley, and in front of him was a psychopath ready to chop him up any moment.

"I must admit, I was rash in trying to kill you. For our experiment, a catalyst is needed, and your quality is unquestionably… very high."

Davis backed off as the robed creature took several quick steps forward, a few rocks crumbled underneath his feet which reminded him that he was stepping on the end of the road. Turning around, the last thing Davis saw was the pommel of a sword smacking hard onto his head, instantly knocking him unconscious.

* * *

OK, that was done, I am trying hard to update by the way, the story is still advancing, thank you very much for still reading, please keep it up!

I know the "Ice Wall" doesn't appear in the anime, but it does in one of the games, so I included it in here, hope you don't mind.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	20. Chapter 20 Blessed with a Curse

Hello!

Not much to say really, everybody is just getting ready and building up to the finale now. Answers to explain and five big bad left to fight, with whom you should be able to guess.

Also, you might have noticed the nine creatures speaking random things, some of the things they say can be classified as semi-dim-witted. That is because they can only think through logic, their cunning and intelligence is as far as logic can go, so expect some nonsensical rambles.

Read on!

* * *

**Chapter 20: Blessed with a Curse**

_That didn't feel right…_Veemon stopped in the middle of a step and turned to look in the direction where a swarm of birds were alerted and flew away. He felt something, the presence of something that felt so familiar to him…

"Here."

Veemon jumped as he heard the chilling voice from behind him, he turned round and gasped as he saw that same robed being standing there. But Davis was there too, he was floating next to the creature unconscious, his arms were lifted up into the air as if tied against an invisible wall by those flickering black bands around his wrists.

Veemon panicked, could he fight that thing? After last time? Before Veemon could act, the creature spoke.

"Is this human important to you?"

_What?_ Veemon didn't really expect a question like that. "No." He lied, hoping this would get that thing to release Davis.

"Then I shall dispose of the unneeded"

"No! Wait!" Veemon rushed forward a few steps as the creature telekinetically lifted a sword up, it stopped, turned and stared at Veemon from behind its hood.

"Then you know what you must do…"

Veemon swallowed before replying angrily: "Why do you need him? If you want to kill me, couldn't you just do it now? Leave the bystanders out of this!"

"We would prefer it if you were intact when the process is complete, I was rash in deciding to kill you, but with this human acting as a catalyst, your quality could be potentially doubled, if not far more."

"What the _heck_ are you talking about?!" Veemon grew increasingly frustrated, just as he was getting ready to return to the real world and find his friends, _this_ happens, "If you want me, take me now! Leave him alone!"

"The results could be optimized if all of us were there, thus it is worth the wait."

"Why? WHY?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Veemon could not take any more of this nonsense, there had been enough suffering, it needed to end, it all needed to end! "You created me and so what? What do you want with me now? Kill me? Make me massacre everything? TELL ME?!"

The creature twitched its head slightly and said, "So you found out… how?"

Veemon didn't answer, so he just stood there and seethed with anger.

The robed being paused for a moment, the closest posture to thinking it had ever shown, "It must be him… That is indeed a mistake, perhaps in my miscalculation I left too much of him alive in this world. But no matter, this should not hinder our plan." The being turned and was ready to leave.

"NO! Vee Head-Butt!" Veemon charged at the being head first as it was ready to leave, he flew at the creature with all his might, but that was not enough to break the force field surrounding it. Veemon bounced back onto the floor with a bleeding forehead, his mind couldn't stop ringing from the impact.

The being turned around again to look at the disoriented Veemon on the ground, "How pathetic, it is indeed surprising how being sealed away can decay your power so much." Davis's limp body shook violently and that woke him up.

"Davis!" Veemon looked at him as he slowly opened his blood stained eyelids.

"Vee… Veemon? Veemon! ARRGHH!" Purple sparks ran through Davis's body and left him in a seizure of electrocuting pain, the being stood there and waited for Veemon to react.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" Veemon ran at the being once again and relentlessly punch the barrier between them. He skinned his knuckles again and again, blood dripped from his hand as he screamed for it to stop.

It didn't, it just kept going, watching emotionlessly at Davis in a sea of agony with a desperate Veemon banging his head against the invisible barrier to get through. It stopped just before the attack would have killed Davis. "Come and find her." The creature said quickly before levitating into the air and exploding into a flying bolt of shadow.

"NO! WAIT! WHO IS _HER?!_ COME BACK!" Veemon shouted as loudly as he could after the shadow, "COME BACK! DON'T JUST TELL ME TO DO SOMETHING AND LEAVE ME CLUELESS! COME BACK!" Tears flooded his eyes and washed down his face as Veemon collapsed helplessly onto the ground, he shivered uncontrollably as he cried, shock and misery mingling together into bitter bile that threatened to make him throw up.

His mind sizzled and buzzed again as the hallucinations began, but he could hardly care now.

"Veemon… are you… alright?" the familiar voice asked him.

"The heck I'm alright!" Veemon screamed in his face, "Just as I thought I could finally go back and find everybody, I got on the wrong end of a death threat that I don't half understand!" Veemon gasped for breath before speaking again, "Who is _her?_ I don't even have an idea! How am I suppose to find them?!"

"I… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked."

Veemon was silent; his rage seemed to have stopped him thinking properly, "… Wait, you know, don't you!"

The cloaked ExVeemon nodded silently.

"Then don't just stand there! Tell me!"

The ExVeemon sighed softly, "I know where you need to go… but you need to be ready."

Veemon thought about it for a moment, he knew what that meant, and that it will mark the point of no return… But why the heck not! What else could he do, "What do I have to do?"

"Just… relax, I guess. By fusing into your body, I can give you instructions more easily. But by doing so, you are going to remember a lot of things you don't want to, thus giving you access to powers that is in all honesty better hidden away. You will need this power later, but abuse it and you will lose yourself. If you know what I mean."

Veemon let out a troubled breath, "I'm ready…"

"You don't sound certain."

"I am! I will do anything for all this to finish!"

The ExVeemon stared into his eyes for a moment, his expression riddled with guilt, "I am sorry to do this to you…"

"Don't apologize." Veemon interrupted him somewhat strangely optimistically, "if you really feel so guilty, then use this as an opportunity to atone yourself."

The ExVeemon was surprised by the sudden rise in Veemon's spirit, and then with a determined nod, his eyes lit up with a spark of hope and said: "Yes, I will do this." He put his gloved palm on Veemon's forehead and said: "Just be careful, this will hurt, quite badly."

Veemon nodded as well and embraced himself against anything else to come.

Mandala shaped rings of data appeared around the ExVeemon's body and glowed; they spun around the two of them and shone brighter and brighter with energy. Veemon closed his eyes against the flare, then with what felt like his body combusting, the light exploded and streams of data burrowed themselves into Veemon's body. He shook uncontrollably as the current bashed against his helpless body, he felt his mind become lighter and lighter until all senses of what he was experiencing had disappeared. Well, except the electrocuting pain.

It began…

The first thing Veemon realized was that he was once again inside a body he could not control, it was a weird feeling. His strange body charged into a crowd of digimons, a crowd of _enemies_. This was a battle long ago, he knew that. He was possessing the body of an ExVeemon, but unlike the others, his body was tinted a blood red scarlet, and the only urge at that moment he felt was to use his enlarged claws, horns, talons ,fangs and muscles to tear, slash, mangle, pummel and destroy everything in his way. And of course, he did.

Veemon watched as his body throttled everyone around him, from all the Veemon races to scores of other types of digimons. He struggled not to feel sick as he watched blood and gore splatter across his face and body. The body was hit countless times by the enemies, but the wounds simply repaired themselves. How? Because every time he killed, the data of the digimon automatically dissipated and was vacuumed into his body, every one of his enemies. All that raw data inside his body both acting as reserved strength and as a way to mend wounds almost instantaneously.

_Wha… What was that?! I just used Terra-Force._ Surrounded by a crowd of people, his body used combinations of attacks including Electro Shocker, Howling Blast, Roaring Fire, Mega Claw and many other moves which he did not even know, never mind possess.

So it appears that by absorbing their data, he also gains some of their abilities…

_How immoral… but being able to do that…_

All the time Veemon's mind felt like it was spinning, the unstoppable feeling of nausea churning in his empty stomach, Veemon felt that if this didn't end soon he would throw up, not that he had anything _to_ throw up.

That battle was clearly his victory, to add insult to injury on his enemies, he had won it all by himself, his allies just cheered and watched, not even attacking.

Only more mass-scaled fighting followed this one; the results were all the same, Veemon had totally and utterly destroyed them without much effort.

It was crazy, the sheer power of his body frightened Veemon to no ends.

As the nausea inducing memories played in his head, Veemon noticed that he couldn't remember anything in between the battles. It seemed like that the nine digimons that created him had "shut him down" after everything battle before "turning him on" again before a battle… just like a machine…

After more fights than Veemon had cared to count, the enemies were getting fewer and fewer, until he had finally chased down every last fleeing enemy and absorbed their data. His allies cheered endlessly, but it wasn't the laugh of camaraderie and joy of victory, it was the insane howling of madness and savage blood thirst. Veemon had seen this many times, too many times…

So the war was over…

What was going to happen to him now?

The nine digimons walked towards him, they were going to shut him down one last time.

No.

He won't let them…

_You created me for one purpose only: to kill. So I will fulfil that purpose. Those of you who are responsible for all this, what makes you so different from my enemies? All I know is that you were all involved, and you must all die…_

The nine surrounded Veemon in a ring; they started chanting as purple lights shined form their bodies…

_I AM NOT SOME TOOL YOU CAN JUST MAKE AND DISCARD AS YOU PLEASE!_

Veemon felt a sudden tremor, the body digivolved! The ground seemed to tremble with the very force emitting from his body! He burst forth and charged into the wave of digimons that were supposed to be his allies, but they were not, they only ever saw Veemon as a machine, they had lost all senses, all they knew was to fight, they were nothing, they were empty, they deserved what they got…

Veemon effortlessly cut down the hordes of digimons like knife through butter. He killed and absorbed them, not a minute gone by without dozens dying. Veemon was speechless at the indescribable atrocities before his eyes…

_This…? This is… what I did… all that time ago…?_

Veemon felt like he was going insane, first by the sickening amount of life he had taken, second by what kind of monstrous abomination he was back then.

Night arrived… a sheet of dark blue sheen shined upon this blood-covered land. Veemon's body collapsed onto the ground and laughed maniacally into the glowing full moon. He had succeeded…

He had killed everything he saw… and brought peace…

Some kind of twisted pleasure told him that he was proud of it…

Veemon concurred at the thought, what had he become…?

Suddenly, something happened, Veemon didn't know what, but with it, the memories ended abruptly. All that was left, was pitch black silence.

Veemon froze still at what he had just seen. "Those data… are they still inside me?"

"Unfortunately, yes." The ExVeemon's voice rang through his head.

The thought made Veemon feel sick, inside his body? Inside the body of this little blue dragon contained the data of thousands of digimons? How much more grotesque can it get?

But with that the memory, Veemon had gained experience, he had also learned how to control the data and use them… this sudden advancement in his power was so tantalising Veemon wanted to try it immediately! But it is also this lust for new power that frightened him so much.

"That power will be necessary, but do not abuse it. Remember what happened that time when you fought the nine, your dark transformation is only a mere percentage of what that power is capable of."

Veemon looked at his hands as if they were covered by invisible blood, the thought of relying on such a massive force of destruction unsettled him. He didn't want to use it at all. Or else he was too afraid he will lose himself again.

But in his mind he noticed something: there was another block of memory. It felt like a warm ball of light, encased by another mind. It felt alien, but it didn't take long for Veemon to realize that it was the ExVeemon's memory. He felt curious and mentally prodded the locked away memories.

"Why don't you show me? Show me, your story…"

"My story…? …Do you wish to?"

"Yes… I want to know more, about everything that had happened then."

Veemon heard a sad sigh from the ExVeemon, that sad expression that showed the memories were locked away on purpose, perhaps, it is just too painful for him to recall it.

"… Very well… Come, I will share with you… my story…"

* * *

As you can guess, the next chapter is mostly going to be riddle solving and back ground history revealing, so thank you for reading once again and there is just a few more chapters left!

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	21. Chapter 21 My Story

Hello!

So as The Silent Insomniac has pointed out, I am moving the plot on a bit faster than usual, which may be considered a good thing (if you don't like to wait) or a bad thing (if you like longer stories). I am sorry for those who hate me for cutting it short. But don't worry; I will extend it as best as I could without making it boring, and there is still a good chunk of the story left yet: we haven't seen the other five in action yet have we?

Read on!

* * *

**Chapter 21: My Story**

Veemon looked at the strange world before his eyes, viewing the ExVeemon's memories was a strange experience, he was looking at everything in a third person view, as if browsing through a 3D gallery.

"As you know by now, I was alive during the war. But unlike the others, I am one of the very few who did not die during the battles. Making me… some kind of a veteran I guess."

Veemon watched with interest what life was like before the war broke out, Digimon did not only digivolve using armour eggs, but they also used the seemingly unlimited data to build and mend, both mentally and physically. The clusters of Veemon race style structures were the closest thing to a digimon city Veemon had ever seen.

"As you also know, the armour eggs indeed weren't unlimited. Their creations became rarer and rarer, and as our resources to up hold our states began to run thin, we became greedy. I was just like those other digimons of the time, hot headed and rash, we just thought we would be going on some kind of raid. Get there, get what we want and come back."

And so they did, it began with only a small horde of Veemon race digimons attacking other Veemon race digimons, because they were the groups with by far the most armour eggs. Even that small conflict, however, brought revenge. Revenge of an equally small force that ambushed and attacked the other group, and a swift victory it was. An even bigger counter-attack was the result.

And so, the conflict escalated into all out warfare. No one had anticipated it, no one was prepared, they were fighting an endless war, as any killed digimon was simply reborn, but only to fight and die again. The horrific fact was, after years of fighting, the digimons had long stopped using armour eggs. They were now simply fighting for revenge, because neither side could forgive and forget.

"It was hellish, you know, there was barely any food or water, no equipment or what so ever, nobody cared about you and you cared about nobody, if you starve or get injured they simply kill you so you can be reborn quicker and fight as a soldier again. You don't even have a childhood if you are reborn, you are literally forced to start fighting the very moment you can. This is why those who are reborn are almost always insane, because violence is all they ever knew. I was one of the _very_ few lucky enough to not have been killed."

"After what must have been dozens of years of pointless fighting, I grew so tired. I just didn't want to do it anymore. Have anyone else ever had this feeling? When you have killed again and again and came face to face with death so many times you just want to lie down and let it all end. That's what I felt like; if the war wasn't going to end my life then I would do it myself."

Veemon's vision flashed and he switched views, another strange sensation took over him as Veemon changed to the first person view of the ExVeemon.

He was sitting in the middle of hundreds of others, Digimon of many races were here, although most of them were Veemons.

There was a scream from one side of the tide of people, but he seemed to be the only person who was bothered by it. Veemon felt the ExVeemon quickly rush to the source of the scream, he saw an injured Flamedramon on the floor with several other digimons surrounding him, he had been hit by several attacks, the wounds were severe, but not fatal.

ExVeemon sighed, this was such a common sight now a days. He sat next to the Flamedramon and said softly: "How long have you been here?"

The Flamedramon just stared at him in horror; his mouth twitched but did not reply.

"I guess I can understand your shock, but don't worry, you will recover…"

But that did not calm the Flamedramon at all; instead he shook his head frantically as if trying to get away.

"What's wrong?" ExVeemon did not quite understand what had frightened the Flamedramon so much.

"Get… Get me out of here… Don't you know…? WHAT THEY'LL DO TO ME?!" The injured dragon suddenly jumped up and grabbed ExVeemon's arm. He jumped back at the sudden reaction and studied the Flamedramon carefully.

"What? Oh, don't worry; you are not so injured that they will kill you."

"Get out of the way!"

ExVeemon was shoved aside by another digimon, he turned around and looked. _Oh, those robed creeps. Why are they even in the army, it's not like they meaningfully contribute or anything. Why do they even wear those robes anyway?_ There was just something about these robed digimons that he didn't trust.

The robed digimon stood over the frightened Flamedramon and raised a blade.

"HEY! WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" ExVeemon jumped right up to stop the sword but he was too late. The cold steel sank into the Flamedramon's chest with a sickening crunch, ExVeemon watched in horror as the sword absorbed his data. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?! HE WAS ALIVE, DAMN IT!" He shouted furiously.

"This way not only will we make use of his data, he will also be reborn quicker, as the blade does not absorb all the data." The robed being replied as if nothing was wrong.

ExVeemon breathed heavily at the disgusting act he just saw, not just killing but absorbing his data as well! He raised a fist and was about to send it into the creatures robed face before several others held him back. "HE WAS ALIVE! HE WOULD HAVE SURVIVED, YOU SICK MONSTER!"

The robed being just walked away, not even taking one look back at the scene of commotion he had just caused.

ExVeemon fell on his knees and panted, _what the hell is going on?!_ They have been fighting for half a century now, and this is all camaraderie is worth? At first they would at least give the injured a chance but now, they are even absorbing their data! _I'm getting out of here; I've seen too much, this is just too much! I'm getting out of this herll where your allies wouldn't even think twice before making you die faster!_

But really, he knew that he didn't have anywhere else to go. On this war ravaged land, he will just be forcedly recruited if he was seen anywhere. Not only him, countless other Digimon not of the Veemon race were conscripted, for what? Only more bloodshed.

_I just have to get away… even for a short while…_

And so, in the dead of the night, ExVeemon disappeared like a shadow in the midst of everybody's deep sleep. The patrol guards weren't alerted, and that was good, he will get to stay for as long as possible this way.

Veemon couldn't help but asked, "So what then? I mean, it was not like you planned to go anywhere."

"I wasn't, I just wanted to stop fighting, and I didn't even feel like living anymore. I just wanted to go somewhere and stay there or maybe even die there, not that I cared. But I definitely was not expecting what came next."

So ExVeemon walked from place to place, not even sleeping or eating. Perhaps not fully, but Veemon could sympathize. Becoming suicidal didn't seem too crazy in a world where even grass was rare a sight.

After what seemed like weeks…

ExVeemon just collapsed and stared into the sky as hunger and exhaustion finally took its toll on his body, calmly waiting for whatever death prepared for him.

_This doesn't feel too bad…_

A part of him enjoyed it; a part of him even wanted a poetic death. He closed his eyes for what he had expected to be the last time…

But much to his surprise, he woke up.

Sugary water was spoon fed into his mouth as he opened his lead-filled eyelids.

"You are awake, I see?"

ExVeemon looked and saw an Angewomon, the sight of seeing an angel digimon nowadays really surprised him. He was lying on a bed of straw, inside a wooden hut dimly lit by digital lanterns.

"So…" his voice was hoarse and his throat felt like sand papers, ExVeemon coughed and choked on some water.

"Easy." Angewomon gave him a towel and wiped the liquid away.

"Why did you bring me in?"

"Well, I can't just leave a fellow comrade to die out there by himself. Say, what happened? You don't look injured." Angewomon looked at him curiously behind her steel helmet.

"Comrade?" He was suddenly alert.

"What do you mean…?" Angewomon was alert too, she quickly realised that she had saved an enemy, and reaction caused her to drop the bowl of water and string her bow, she asked demandingly: "Who are you?"

ExVeemon sighed and relaxed, an action that surprised the Angewomon, "Your enemy, that's what I am… kill me, you'll be doing me a favour."

"Don't think I won't! You can't trick me!" She notched an arrow and aimed it at him; it would have been an easy kill.

ExVeemon just chuckled and closed his eyes, as if waiting for her to release that ready arrow.

The silence filled the room for a whole minute.

Angewomon stared at him curiously, and a bit sympathetically. She slowly lowered her bow, "So, what do you plan to do?"

"You are not going to turn me in?"

"No, I don't see why you should be my enemy."

"I just _am_ your enemy; there is no reason for it anymore." He struggled to get up, but the fatigue was too much for him to even move a limb.

"Don't bother trying; you won't be going anywhere soon." She walked up to him and sat down beside the bed of straw, for she was certain that there was going to be no hostility.

"Then I gladly leave myself at your mercy." He was certain of that too.

"So you trust me, why?"

"Why shouldn't I? I don't even care if I died."

"You are saying, you did this to yourself? How could you be so stupid?!" Angewomon eyed him accusingly.

"I just don't see what is worth living for anymore. You are in the army too; you know what is going on. Nobody is talking about anything other than how to kill. We are only sane because we have not yet been killed, but all those other recruits! They are still children!" He grew more and more frustrated as he spoke, "There is no hope anymore… hope will only bring you disappointment…"

"No! That is not true!" She retorted quickly, her voice so kind and naive, "There is always hope, you mustn't ever give up hope! The war will be finished soon, it will!"

"How do you even know that?"

"I do… I just do!" Angewomon looked at him with her determined eyes behind the steel helmet, "My job is not to kill, my job is to save. And I will do that to anyone, because I don't care about the difference between enemies and allies."

ExVeemon was silent, he pondered in deep thoughts before saying: "… I haven't heard anyone ever say that their job is to save… if anything, all those healer Digimon I know would rather you die quicker than recover, not that they cared about you."

"I know… but heed my word, keep on living, if you haven't been killed yet then that means you are lucky! That means you could see the world without wars again! You must look forward to that!" She went and put some more of those sweet liquid in a bowl before coming back with a spoon.

"… Perhaps…" was the bleak reply.

"Sleep now, you will need it." Angewomon said quietly as she began to softly spoon feed him the liquid from the bowl. The delicately flavoured liquid washed down his throat and cleared away the pain gnawing at his empty stomach, ExVeemon savoured every last drop of it.

**A Week Later:**

Angewomon was sitting on a chair asleep with a lantern next to her. ExVeemon stared at her for a moment, silently smiling at how cute it was, he had to leave, he knew he had to. Living on an enemy's hospitality was just not right, especially that this enemy is a… female.

There was no point denying it, even though they have only met for a week, he was taking a liking to her… too much of it. He had to leave before it was too late.

Which is why he chose the middle of the night, ExVeemon had hoped to slip out without any confrontation, or else he might not be able to bring himself to step out of this hut which the Angewomon had been carefully treating him in.

ExVeemon left a note, a note commenting on what a kind-hearted and well-intentioned Digimon Angewomon was to take care of him like that. He thanked her for nursing him back to health, for keeping him hidden when others came by, and for being the first Digimon to show him any emotion akin to love. But he had to go, his home was the battlefield, doesn't matter how much he hated that fact, he had go back, back to the living hell, only waiting to one day die.

ExVeemon put the note on the straw bed and strode towards the door…

"You are going already?"

He jumped as he heard her speak, he didn't expect it, but he had to go no matter what, he didn't have a choice.

"They are getting suspicious of you staying in the hut all day and not coming out, they will be searching here soon, I have to go, or both of us will be in trouble." ExVeemon just wanted to run out of the door and not turn back, to just escape and force everything he remembered of this place out of his mind… but he couldn't, he could not bring himself to be so cold.

"I… don't really know why I want you to stay, but I understand what you must do, it's just… I have not been able to talk to anyone for so long. I…" Her voice showed her sadness, she tried to conceal it behind her tough exterior. Perhaps it is due to her loneliness, Angewomon could not stop her emotions from showing.

ExVeemon walked to her and laid a palm on her shoulder, he said softly: "I thank you for being the kindest person I have ever met to me; I thank you for everything you have done for me. I don't want to go… but…" He lowered his head and sighed, "I can… only _hope_, that we meet again."

"Don't ever lose it, don't ever lose hope! Stay alive, alive and anything would be possible!" Angewomon stood up and looked him in the eye as tears fell from her face, "Everyone I know is dead!" She cried in between the words, "Everyone I knew, they die and they are reborn and they don't even remember anything! Anything!"

ExVeemon held her in his arms tenderly, caressing her hair as she wept sorrowfully. She continued to speak through tear-choked words: "I know we have only met for a week but you are the only friend I have now… I don't want to lose anyone else…"

He listened to her words in silence; there was nothing he could think of nothing to say that will comfort her, so he decided to say nothing, gently embracing the troubled maiden as she let out the accumulated pain kept hidden all these years in those crystal clear tears.

Angewomon lifted her helmet off and looked up at ExVeemon one more time with those tear filled eyes…

He knew he shouldn't have… but it was just too hard to just leave like this…

ExVeemon brought his face closer to hers and let their lips meet…

They locked into each other's embrace, both just wanting to stay there, not caring about whatever was going on outside, but to remain by each other's side and find the only happiness they could in this ravaged world.

"That… wasn't too soon… was it?" ExVeemon asked somewhat sombrely.

"I don't care…" Angewomon turned her head away before she would start crying again, "Just promise me that we will meet again."

"I swear to you… with everything I could…"

"Then go… go, and live with the hope that one day we may yet again see each other…"

ExVeemon nodded deeply, something came from the corner of his eyes and rolled down his cheeks…

_Tears?_ He wiped them away with a finger,_ tears… I didn't even think I had any…_

With one last look at this place, the shabby straw hut that was heaven for as far as he was concerned, ExVeemon wrenched his head around and charged out into the nightscape.

That will be his goal of living, that will be what he will fight and live for from now on: so that they could meet again and maybe, just _maybe_, meet in a world where there is no war; where there is no violence and endless bloodshed; where fear and paranoia is not a plague in everyone's heart; where life, may once again bloom and prosper; where happiness, may once again be possible...

* * *

I am sorry for making this all so romance based, if you don't like all this mushy stuff that is… The ExVeemon's story is not over yet! As I said, there is still quite a bit of story left.

SPOILER: Not really, considering what you already know, you should be able to figure out that this rather sad relationship is going to end in tragedy. L

Another thing is I may or may not have described properly just how horrible it was during the war. But you should have an idea; it is basically a living hell cycle of death. Considering how horrific the whole thing was. Do you really think it is a bad thing that Veemon brought peace by killing everyone?

I don't.

**Leave your answers in your reviews please! Because your opinion may vary.**

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	22. Chapter 22 My Sorrow

Hello!

Continuing on from the memories, a bit of back ground history here. If you don't like romance stories filled with tragedy, well…

Anyway, here it is.

* * *

**Chapter 22: My Sorrow**

Several weeks passed by, skirmishes filled the time every few days. But not a day went by without ExVeemon thinking about her…

Why? Simply because she is the only Digimon who have ever shown any type of care for him since the war started, ExVeemon had long lost every friend he knew, to find someone else that he could finally talk to, was as great a treasure to him as he could possibly find in this world.

Especially that this _someone else_ is his accidental saviour, and perhaps something more…

ExVeemon had contemplated a few ways to go back, but he had not had to chance yet. The problem is that the journey back would be a very long way, and with the current amount of fighting, he didn't have the stamina to do so.

_Oh well, I will just wait and see if there are any opportunities…_

The opportunity came rather quickly…

This was going to be a big fight, in fact, so big that both the victor and the defeated would have to stop fighting for a few days to recover. The good thing is, the enemy force is going to be fully mobilising this way, which means Angewomon will most likely follow them. Just what he was looking for…

Time to get prepared.

**A few days later:**

The two tides of Digimon marched onto the barren wasteland that will serve as their battlefield. They both stopped and stared at the opposite side. Emotions? Not much. Fear? Excitement? Thrill? Bravery? Cowardice? None.

Both sides just systematically charged and ran at each other, the loud booming of countless feet trampling the lifeless soil, the lunatic cries and roars from those fighting, they were just sounds everyone heard all too often.

ExVeemon fought with them, he was discrete, but it was impossible to not fight at all.

If you don't kill them, they kill you… and killing the inexperienced ones was so easy…

Something flashed in the corner of his eyes and he instinctively jumped to a side as a Greymon let out an enraged roar. Behind him several Digimon perished from the Greymon's Mega Flame.

ExVeemon focused on his target as he circled around the Greymon. He waited for it to attack…

And it did without any hesitation.

ExVeemon jumped over the ball of flame quickly and fired a well charged V-Laser onto the Greymon's head before landing firmly. The projectile struck true and slammed the Greymon onto the ground head first. It quickly recovered and roared ever so furiously before rampaging towards him.

It stormed through the crowd, crushing any Digimon too slow to get out of its way. ExVeemon flipped back as the Greymon came closer, he jumped up high into the air and swung his leg up in a crescent, catching the Greymon underneath the chin and knocked it flat onto the ground on its back.

It still got up! The ruthless Greymon pushed itself up before sending a massive ball of fire after ExVeemon. He panicked slightly before dodging, this was one tenacious opponent! The Greymon attacked again and again, it breathed and let out one explosive ball of flame after another, every shot killed a few unwary Digimon.

ExVeemon back flipped and smacked down two other Digimon who tried to attack him from behind, he studied the pattern of the Greymon's attack for just a few seconds; a daring plan came up in his head.

_Three…_

Another explosion sent an unprepared Veedramon flying through the air before tearing it into pieces of data.

_Two…_

The Greymon breathed in to ready another attack…

_One… NOW!_

That exact moment ExVeemon stopped running and charged up a V-Laser, the shining beam of energy flew straight into the Greymon's mouth as it opened its jaws wide for another attack.

A spray of blood flew out from deep within its throat as the Greymon fell onto the ground with a loud thump, once again crushing a few unfortunate Digimon that happened to have stood next to it.

ExVeemon panted as he watched it fall, he was aware someone was trying to sneak up to him.

"Vee-Punch!"

He swung around and sent his fist into the face of a young Veemon, sending it back flying and killing it instantly.

"No…" ExVeemon suddenly blurted out as he extended an arm, as if trying to reach after the poor creature. _It was… just a child…_ The guilt made him feel numb, he didn't mean for it to happen! He didn't know who it was sneaking on him!

He didn't take any pleasure in this… nobody should…

"Grrrr….."

ExVeemon heard the intimidating growl and turned around to see a bloodied MetalGreymon looming above him, _how?! How did it just digivolve?! It should be dead!_

The MetalGreymon roared as it shot two missiles from its armoured chest, this last ditch attack took all that was left of the MetalGreymon's stamina and killed him.

_Damn it!_

It took one second too long for him to realise and act; one of the two missiles exploded in front of ExVeemon with a "BOOM" that blew open his ear drums and threw him up high into the air…

"Gaahh…!" Pieces of data flew from his body and disappeared as ExVeemon landed on the crumpled soil with a bloody thump, the impact crushed every last bit of air out of his lungs and sent his vision spinning.

ExVeemon coughed up blood and threatened to pass out; even breathing was a tough struggle! He quickly rolled across the floor as purple spikes flew at his position, a Stingmon came at him. ExVeemon took a deep breath and pushed himself up, just barely. He swung back and to the side to avoid those deadly kicks the Stingmon aimed at his head. The Stingmon lunged forward and threw its claw at him; ExVeemon quickly lifted up his left hand and caught the claw before delivering a shattering blow to the forearm with his right fist.

The Stingmon fell back in pain, but ExVeemon wasn't much better either, the explosion had left him battered and every action made him feel dizzy, perhaps there was a few broken bones too…

And lessened reflexes…!

ExVeemon didn't even realise the attack until he felt a powerful kick to his right knee, the bone cracked and lifted him off the ground with a savage twirl. He landed on the side of his chest hard; the impact once again disorientating him, ExVeemon saw the Stingmon readying another purple blade on its wrists for a finishing blow. But he didn't want to give up, the desperate ExVeemon pushed himself forward and jammed his bladed horn into the Stingmon's thigh, it hissed loudly and fell onto the ground as ExVeemon twisted his head to widen the wound.

He quickly pinned the Stingmon down and wrapped his arms around its neck…

Those eyes… those insect eyes that stared back at him fearlessly… It almost froze him in his track…

He forcefully wrenched his arm around and heard a gross "crack" as the Stingmon's body went limp and slowly disappeared.

Even after all these years, the endless killing still made him feel sick, but he was just so good at it…

_Ahh… this doesn't feel good… _ExVeemon could not hold himself up any longer and fell onto the floor, the explosion must have caused quite a few internal injuries; he had never been so seriously injured before… well, his luck had to run out sometime…

_So… this is where it ends…_

Closing his eyes and lying there still seemed like such an appealing option… it would probably mean death, but his body was far too battered to fight again…

…

…_ I haven't even found her yet…_

Unconsciousness was inevitable, but it was the best ExVeemon could do as he barely managed to keep himself from being deleted…

**Later:**

…

That strangely nostalgic feeling…

That feeling of helplessness of being unable to move at all…

_I… woke up… again?_

ExVeemon didn't really know whether that was a good thing or not.

"You are… just so impossibly lucky…"

_That voice!_ He quickly turned to look towards the direction of the voice, but just that movement of his neck shot waves of numbing pain down his back and made him cough up clotted blood.

"No! Stay still!" Angewomon rushed up to him and looked with concern, ExVeemon couldn't at all believe what he was seeing.

She was right: what kind of luck was this?

"How… (Cough) how did you find me…?" he asked with a bleak voice that was barely audible.

"The battle finished, they were collecting the bodies. I saw them pick out the ones that survived and were fine, but they killed those who were too close to death." Angewomon turned away in disgust as she recalled those last few scenes, "I spotted you, somehow… so I took you out here."

"You shouldn't have… if they caught you they would…!" ExVeemon could not speak any more; his throat was hurting too much for him to say anything coherent.

"Why do you even say that?! How could you expect me to just leave you to die?!" Her voice a mixture of grief and anxiousness, Angewomon looked away from the mortally wounded ExVeemon and said tearfully: "Why does this have to be the way we meet…?"

"If this is the price (Cough)… to see you…" The burning pain inside his stomach and chest told ExVeemon how bad the internal bleeding was, never mind his mangled right knee, but he continued to speak none the less, "then I am more than willing to pay for it…"

"Shh…" Angewomon put a finger on his lips to stop him speaking, she was worried, and it was all too visible. They were in the middle of a small and secluded grove, one of the very few that still existed, and they both knew there wasn't going to be any kind of medication around here.

Angewomon slowly walked to a small pool next to them, she stared into the clear mirroring surface of the fresh spring, the reflected moon looked like a glowing plate of shining platinum. She searched thoroughly through every corner of her mind, trying to work out any solution to their problems:

She did not know how long they can stay here without detection. And ExVeemon's condition was serious, but she could not leave him to get help, not to mention there is no help.

Looking at the spring water, Angewomon will have to do whatever she could right now.

Angewomon took out the clay bowl which she kept at her waist and filled it with the surprisingly clean spring water. She reached up to her back and grasped a few feathers from her wing; took a deep breath, and then yanked the feathers out. Sharp pain followed immediately and made her cringe.

Angewomon put the feathers into the bowl of water and muttered a few inaudible words, the water shined with bright light as the feathers dissolved into the sparkling liquid.

She then quietly fed the solution to the feverish ExVeemon, who at the time was barely conscious. Angewomon desperately hoped that this would at least keep the immediate symptoms down.

There was nothing more they could do right now except to wait for whatever else to happen…

So days passed by as Angewomon repeated the same process over and over, she gave what little wild fruit she could find in the nearby bushes to ExVeemon, but it was hard work just to get him to swallow without choking himself. Fatigue was her biggest enemy, days of staying awake to watch for other Digimon and lack of food was quickly wearing her down, not mention the constant self-mutilation of her own body.

She was beyond desperate, there had got to be something that could be done!

It was not working…

ExVeemon's condition was deteriorating day by day. It had been more than a week and he had hardly woken up at all. Angewomon leaned over his bruised body and wept in frustration; he was sweating heavily and his breathing sounded more like panting. If nothing happens soon…

This just felt like all those other times… all those other times when Angewomon had to watch her friends die, she watched them as they lay dying and cursed herself for not being able to do more… one by one, they all left her.

She didn't want that to happen again… not again… not after all these years…

Before her was her only friend and love, and she was unable to do anything to stop him from leaving just like the others…

Damn it! Angewomon screamed and punched the earth furiously, only if she had another way…!

Of course…

She does! Why didn't she think of this before?! It will cost her, but why the hell not?! ExVeemon was the one digimon Angewomon loved, right?

Then why should she be afraid…?

Angewomon pushed herself up and crawled onto ExVeemon's body; he woke up from the sudden contact and slowly opened his tired eyes.

"What… What are you…?"

Angewomon once again silenced him with a finger before lowering her body and pushed her soft lips onto his…

ExVeemon suddenly tensed up as he realised what she was doing: she was giving her data to him!

"No…! Stop!" He mumbled quickly as he struggled to break the contact in vain. A blinding screen of white light surrounded the two of them and ExVeemon immediately felt the pain in his body begin subside, like a cool refreshing stream of water washing away the flaming pains that burnt inside him.

The moment vigour returned to his arms, ExVeemon grasped Angewomon by the shoulders and broke the contact. She was the now one who was sweating and panting heavily, ExVeemon gently laid her onto the ground as tears swelled up inside his eyes.

"How could you… be so… stupid…?" ExVeemon was trembling and looked at her with worried, frightened eyes, "You could have… you could have died!"

"If you were me… would you have done differently…?"

"… No…" Angewomon smiled at his tear muffled voice, she found it rather cute coming from someone like ExVeemon, "I would have done the same for you…"

"That is all I wanted to hear." She reached her arms up and they locked each other into such a tight and loving embrace, it was as if their bond wouldn't be broken even if the earth itself shook beneath them. Angewomon spoke in a snivelling voice, her tears the testimony of her joy: "I'm so glad you are okay now…"

"This is… the second time now… how could I ever even possibly begin to repay you…?" ExVeemon shut his eyes tight and winced in an effort to stop himself from crying, "Why did you do it? What would I do if I found out you gave your life to save mine?!"

"You would live on. You would live on with our best memories and live on to stop anything like this ever happening again. You would live on with hope and joy, the hope and joy that I will never let you loss."

That was it; ExVeemon could not control it any longer. He whimpered and cried for the first time he could remember, for if there was any time for it to happen, this was the best possible time.

Angewomon lifted off her steel helmet, that solid confinement she had worn for so many years, and kissed him again. Pouring all her feelings and love into that touch as he passionately returned the kiss.

Angewomon was weakened by the act of sacrifice, and she will never quite recover again. But she was by no means crippled or disabled.

She pushed ExVeemon over and the two of them lay on the grass under a starry night and bright full moon. They both knew that they need to depart as soon as possible, Angewomon was weak and in enemy territory, and neither of them could defend themselves from any sort of danger right now. Scouts from either side of the army could find them any moment, they were lucky to have been able to stay here this long.

Neither of them wanted to leave each other again, but circumstances demanded separate ways once again…

This may be the last time they will be together for a long time to come, and there was always the chance that they will never meet again…

ExVeemon and Angewomon stared into each other's eyes with every emotion they could possibly express, if this shall be their last night, then also let it be a night that they will both remember… forever and ever.

* * *

Just to tell you, just because I wrote about ExVeemon killing those other Digimon, doesn't mean I have anything against those Digimon, okay? So don't say I hate Greymon and Stingmon and abuse them by killing them, I really did select them randomly.

And if you think it was really too lucky to be true for Angewomon to find ExVeemon and that they managed to stay hidden for so long, well… read on…

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	23. Chapter 23 My Demise

Hello!

Sorry for taking so long on the other one, I was in a bit of trouble…

Actually, I was in a lot of trouble: I couldn't stop playing a MMORPG called "Perfect World International (Europe)". You know MMOs can be very addictive once you start, and the fact that I am a hard-core doesn't really help…

Anyway, if any of you play Perfect World on the European server, **PLEASE LET ME KNOW!**

But read on for now…

* * *

**Chapter 23: My Demise**

The next morning…

Farewells were so hard to say…

And actually leaving was even harder, after much tearful silence and comforting words, neither of them was reassured enough to happily walk away from each other.

"I really don't feel it is safe for me to let you go alone, considering your current state…" ExVeemon didn't want to go back to the army either; the only thing that waited for him there was more fighting.

"If you follow me they will kill you on sight, we can't stay here, they will find us eventually. We should just run away."

"Not like this we can't, not to mention that there is nowhere to run to."

Angewomon was silent, there was no other solution, they will both have to return and recover. Hopefully that one day, another opportunity will arise and they may finally leave and find safety…

Hope, that was the only thing ExVeemon had. And it was strange, because he had never relied on it before, nor did he ever think he would.

They embraced each other one more time before gathering up the determination to turn away and leave.

And weeks passed by without any news yet again…

ExVeemon was as discrete as ever. He stayed in the corner of the battlefield and fought very little, or not at all, when it was possible. This was his best way to avoid injury, although cowardice like this was not his usual behaviour.

The waiting proved to be quite torturous; ExVeemon did not know whether he should wait for news or act himself. It was impossible for him to sneak into the other side's army. Somehow, everybody just seems to know whether you belong to their side or not… ExVeemon didn't expect Angewomon to act either, but he so longed to see her again…

So, more time passed by, so long the ExVeemon couldn't have been bothered enough to count…

One evening, in the aftermath of the battle as everyone sat and rested, a fiery, blood red sunset lit up the sky. It was as if the bloodshed from the fighting tainted the sky itself. ExVeemon stared into the sunset dreamily, it was rather entrancing, in a way.

A trail of light glided through the clouds and passed over head in an arc…

_Shooting star?_ ExVeemon stood up and watched with interest, _well, that's a rare sight…_

But no… It wasn't a shooting star, ExVeemon tensed as he realised what it was: a Celestial Arrow.

The light stopped and vanished, leaving a trail of glittering stars behind at where it had came from.

He looked around and was relieved that no one was watching, this was obviously a signal. And ExVeemon was so incredibly eager to reply to it!

_Just wait for me… I am coming, as quickly as I can!_

**Nightfall:**

ExVeemon was extremely anxious to leave, but he still had to wait until much of the Digimon were asleep, much to his dismay at the delay.

Sneaking away from the lights that marked their territory, ExVeemon ran non-stop for a few hours until he finally found the grove they had been in. He was sure this was where the arrow came from, he had no doubts.

The leaves rustled as ExVeemon brushed the vegetation aside to give himself entrance whilst panting heavily to relieve his lungs from the heavy exercise. He was so happy! They could finally see each other again!

Wreathed in an ethereal white sheen, was Angewomon sitting on a small rock in the middle of the clearing. She turned at the noise and smiled at him.

ExVeemon stared at his love which he had missed for so long, she was so beautiful, sitting near the pool of crystal clear spring water in this hidden oasis, just like the goddess she is. He laughed with joy and rushed up to embrace her.

Angewomon returned the embrace, but she whimpered slightly and fell into his arms.

"What… What's wrong?" ExVeemon was suddenly worried when he saw her deathly pale skin.

"Forgive me… this trip had worn me out…" Angewomon replied bleakly, she was evidently exhausted to the extreme.

"Do not apologise, you need to rest." ExVeemon sat down and softly laid her back onto his legs, letting her rest and urged her to go to sleep.

"Hey, look at this." Angewomon smiled weakly and took out a cloth sack from the bag that was tied around her waist.

"What's this?" ExVeemon held the sack curiously as she handed it to him. He unwrapped the cloth carefully and nearly dropped it when he saw the content:

It was a turquoise blue egg.

"A… A digi-egg?" ExVeemon could not believe what he saw, "Is… this…?"

Angewomon just smiled and nodded happily, she was amused by his bashful reaction.

ExVeemon didn't really know what to do; this was one heck of a surprise! He smiled and held her hands warmly while thinking about anything he could possibly say.

But wait… there were going to be problems! ExVeemon suddenly stumbled and realised: "This is dangerous, if they find it…!"

"Which is why I came here." Angewomon stroked the flawless surface of the egg with utmost delicacy, she looked at him with those warm violet eyes and spoke softly, "We have to go, and there is no choice now. We have to leave…"

ExVeemon realised that too, they had to go, they can't stay here any longer. Before, ExVeemon was worried that there wouldn't be any where to run to. But now…

"You are right! It is about time we escaped from this hell! We should have done this a long time ago, but now, for all our sake, we will run. And we won't ever turn back, no matter what!" But then he looked at the worn-out Angewomon lying next to him and realised that it was impossible right now, she could hardly walk, never mind run. "But you have to rest; I'm not going anywhere unless you get better."

"I won't, I will never be able to recover now..."

"No! Don't say that!" ExVeemon realised that they are going to need as much supplies as possible if they are going to get anywhere far. For Angewomon… she would not survive without some kind of medical help…

As far as ExVeemon was concerned, there wasn't much of a choice, "I will need to go back! I will go and get anything we need! Please! Just wait until morning! I will be back! I promise!"

Angewomon looked at him with weary eyes and said, "I will wait, I will wait for eternity if I must." She struggled but managed to sit up to gently kiss ExVeemon on the lips before giving him the bag with the egg in it, "Take this… If any danger should arise, I cannot defend it, so you must…"

"But…"

"No." Angewomon silenced him and continued on, "If I do not survive, then hold this egg dear, and promise me to live on with it joyously, without regret, without looking back. Promise me, promise me that you will not allow yourself to wallow in despair, for I leave everything to you, and you only."

ExVeemon bit his lips hard and said "I promise" whilst choking back tears; nothing had ever made him want to cry so much. He quickly tied the bag across his shoulder and said: "I will be back!" before turning and running away to the camping area of his army.

With as much haste as he had when he came, ExVeemon arrived back at region of his army and snuck inside as quietly as possible.

His heart beat like an engine as he walked to the wooden hut where the army kept their food and other supplies. ExVeemon looked around to watch out for anyone watching before sneaking towards the hut.

He had a bad feeling about this…

"You came as expected."

The chilling voice made ExVeemon jump as he quickly looked towards the direction of the voice.

The nine robed Digimons walked from the hut towards ExVeemon. He silently cursed himself for not noticing their presence, but their pitch black robe was nearly invisible against the dawning twilight.

"Come with us." The nine walked passed him with a clear demand for him to follow.

"Why?"

"Do not question us."

It was useless to reason; ExVeemon untied the bag and was about to put it on the floor before one of nine said coldly: "Bring it with you."

He reluctantly put the bag back on as the nine surrounded him in a tight circle and forced him to follow them out of the camp. There was something uncomfortably foreboding about these creatures…

After roughly an hour of walking and they were well away from the camp, the nine stopped and suddenly said: "Hand over the egg, now."

ExVeemon was totally caught off guard by the sudden statement; he remained silent but panicked inside.

"I repeat, hand over the egg."

"How did you know?"

"How do we know? Did you really think you managed to stay undetected when you left the army all those months ago? We were going to exterminate you, but in the end, we had better plans."

"What plans?"

"And did you really believe that the Angewomon managed to find you on the battlefield by pure luck?" It ignored ExVeemon and continued on, "Of course not, we made it happen. We kept away any scouts that could have so easily discovered your hiding place."

_What the heck…?_

"So what do you want now?"

"The point was that we needed both of you alive, so that one day the two of you may produce a digi-egg together, and now you have." It ignored him once again, "We needed a pure digi-egg, one born from the combined data of two living digimon, not a tainted one formed from the deleted data of a slain digimon."

"Why? Why do you want it?"

"A fresh digi-egg in its incubating and initial-configuration phase will accept any data injected into it, therefore it is possible for us to modify the unborn digimon into a weapon, a weapon of a never before seen kind that would grant us final victory to this war."

"You what?!" ExVeemon held onto the bag protectively and protested in return, "You want to do what with the egg?! I will never hand it over to you freaks!"

"We will not repeat ourselves again: hand the egg over now!"

ExVeemon was enraged; he could not believe what he was hearing: "NO! I WILL NOT HAND IT OVER!" he readied himself for battle and shouted furiously, "FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO WIN THE WAR WITH! HE IS JUST A CHILD!"

"All must contribute to the effort of our warfare. This is our chance, we need the egg and we will do whatever is needed to obtain it."

"YOU WILL NOT!"ExVeemon shook in anger and swung his fist at the robed beings closest to him. They jumped back as if floating, dodging the attack easily.

"V-Laser!"

He fired the laser at three robed creatures, only for it to miss completely as they floated aside. _What the hell are they?_ He had never seen them fight before, but their combat prowess is already beginning to seem intimidating!

ExVeemon jumped to the side several times to avoid the purple energy beams the creatures shot at him. He rolled close to one and crouched low as he aimed a kick at the creature's leg. It jumped up and quickly countered with a kick to ExVeemon's head.

ExVeemon stumbled back as his vision spun around, the hit was amazingly powerful. He quickly regained balance and saw that same being aim a punch at him, ExVeemon caught the hand and was about to counter-attack before the purple lightning shot from the being's fist and electrocuted him all over.

And all this time, he forgot to see what the other eight were doing…

As ExVeemon jumped back and broke the contact between them, he heard a loud buzzing noise to his side…

He looked and saw eight of the nine standing next to each other, their hands joint together and purple energy shined and crackled through each of their bodies.

_Run…_

Too late, a _massive_ ball of intense white energy burst forth in front of the eight and charged straight towards ExVeemon.

It hit him full on and exploded with light bright as a super nova and the loudest "BOOM" anyone had ever heard. All ExVeemon could feel was the world blowing up and searing agony burning at every inch of his flesh. The explosion created a crater the size of small lake and sent ExVeemon flying back for at least a dozen metres.

ExVeemon slammed onto the floor and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, everything… everything was hurting like hell! How could they have been so powerful! They defeated him with the ease of killing an insect!

Data started to float out from his body and disappear. There wasn't even any point in trying to move… ExVeemon saw the nine quickly teleporting towards him in clear triumph… there was no way he was going to survive this.

ExVeemon looked at the bag which he had dropped a few steps away from him, he was relieved to see the egg undamaged… that was his unborn child, what would be his honour if he let him fall into the hands of those monsters?

This was one thing that ExVeemon had never wanted to do…But it was either his or both of their lives… this is a sacrifice well made.

"I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you…"

In a menacingly low voice, ExVeemon muttered maniacally as his body straightened up in a distorted un-earthly fashion, the floating data were quickly sucked back into his body and turned his mercury silver skin an ebony charcoal black, at the same time, his muscles bulged and grew to monstrous proportions.

"I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you… I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Razor sharp horns protruded from ExVeemon's head and his talons and claws enlarged and shined with a blood-thirsty light. His voice raised higher and higher, its tone becoming wild and uncontrollable.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"

More spikes grew from his hands and tail as his turquoise iris shrunk and disappeared, leaving a feral icy blue eye behind that stared at his enemies with indescribable anger and hatred.

"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!"

The berserk ExVeemon let out a blood-churning roar and charged straight into the un-suspecting crowd horns first. He impaled one of them on those deadly spikes before tossing the bleeding body away like a broken toy.

Three came at him; ExVeemon quickly brought his massive claws down and instantly cut two of them in half across the waist. He balled his other hand into a fist and punched straight through the body of the other one. Black, slimy blood exploded into a fountain as ExVeemon's fist entered and exited from the other side of the creature's body.

The rest of them five gathered and prepared an energy charge, but no! He was not falling for that again! ExVeemon jumped high up into the sky and stomped down into the middle of the group. Four of them dodged away, the other one fell onto the ground silently as it was diced into strips by the talons on ExVeemon's claw.

Without any hesitation, ExVeemon ran at another and sank his jaws onto its neck before savagely tearing its head off. A bolt of electricity shot at him and numbed his muscles, but that was not enough to stop him now! He quickly grabbed that one and torn it limb from limb with ease.

Just two more to go! Pieces of data were already beginning to fly out of ExVeemon's body. He dashed forward and brought both of his fists down in a cross on one of the two who was too slow to dodge. The bladed spikes on ExVeemon's hands cleanly quartered the creature. Finally, he turned swung his saw blade-like tail down at the last one standing and watched as its body was divided vertically and fell onto the ground with a "splat".

It was over…

More and more data flew and disappeared from his body as ExVeemon collapsed onto the floor, his legs gave away, unable to hold itself up any longer. He was back to his normal body again, the body that was broken beyond repair…

Looking up at the far away horizon, the sky was tainted a fiery orange, the first signs of the rising sun…

_How I wanted to return to her… one last time…_

ExVeemon turned his head desperately to find the egg he had dropped, but instead, he saw something else…

Shadows crawled over the cut up bodies of the nine creatures and ExVeemon watched in horror as the pieces of cut off limbs and torso stuck together again and regenerated!

_What…?! How are they…?!_

At once, they all teleported next to each other and circled the helpless ExVeemon like vultures looming over their close-to-death prey.

What were they doing? Finishing him off?

"AAARRGGHHH!" ExVeemon couldn't help but yell out as a humongous current of purple electricity crackled and drowned him in burning agony. His body twisted and shook in violent uncontrollable fits as the electrocution brought waves upon waves of horrendous pain.

One of the nine stepped forth and telekinetically grabbed ExVeemon by the neck, lifting him up into the air; it walked towards him in quick silent steps as it conjured something in its hand.

Blood came bursting out of his mouth, ExVeemon looked and saw the robed being standing there with a bloodied sword. A massive gash extended from his right shoulder and ended on his left hip, blood gushed from the wound and left him choking.

ExVeemon was thrown through the air and smashed into a rock. He felt bones crack and shatter as he bounced onto the floor again…

In front of his bloodied eyes, was the sapphire blue digi-egg, it lay there unscathed, half wrapped in dirty cloth. The only bright spot in ExVeemon's vision…

With the absolute last drops of vigour left in his broken body, ExVeemon crawled and reached towards the egg with whatever strength left in him, leaving a trail of hot blood behind where he had been, he had promised… he had promised to look after it…this was his child… he didn't want to fail…

That one of the nine appeared next to ExVeemon and kicked him over before pinning him onto the ground with a foot. It lifted the blade above its head, the sharp point of the sword ready and aiming…

The sun was just rising, over the hills, the first light of dawn, the beginning of a new day, but for him…

This was the end.

ExVeemon stared at the egg with his wide open eyes; he lifted a trembling arm up in one last pathetic attempt to reach for it.

His vision began to blur…

With what little air left in his crushed lungs, ExVeemon spoke his last words in that pitifully quiet voice:

"I'm…so… sorry…"

…

The sword came down in a flash…

The curtain of crushing darkness fell, and silence was the only thing left.

* * *

Well, that's over… it took me quite a long time to plan this chapter, the end of ExVeemon's memories, I do so hope you liked, touched by it, or at least thought it was somewhat epic or poetic, PLEASE tell me what you think of it.

One ironic thing is: I'm sure you were expecting one of the two to die, and I bet you were expecting the female character (Angewomon) to die first, have to say, so was I, but for some reason I changed my mind, you will find out why later.

I will be doing more and possibly quicker, because I am finally on holiday again, so thank you everyone for reading!

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	24. Chapter 24 Preparations

Hello!

Now! We are back to the normal story. I don't know what you may think, but I really liked my ideas for the past few chapters, your mileage will vary, but I enjoyed writing it very much.

Anyway, read on!

* * *

**Chapter 24: Preparations**

Veemon slowly regained feelings of his body; it did not surprise him when he found tears on his face. The whole thing was… more then he could have possibly imagined.

"So… what happened to her?"

"I tried… I really did… I tried to get her to escape, to go back. But she didn't, she heard the fight and she came…"

Veemon could guess the rest…

"Imagine my surprise when I woke up again, in here." ExVeemon was somewhere behind Veemon, he gestured around the room and spoke sombrely, "And imagine what I felt like as I saw her limping towards the remnants of our battle site a few hours later… only for her body to give up and collapse next to my half-absorbed corpse. I couldn't believe it… she had been ill, _so_ dreadfully ill from the journey she made… And I didn't even notice!" ExVeemon punched the ground in anguish; Veemon had no doubt that he blamed himself for the accident all this time, "She would not have survived… even if I managed to succeed and escaped together…"

Veemon sighed softly, not quite knowing what to say. He did not expect the history to be pleasant, but this…

"That anger, was the reason why I was able to break out of this prison." ExVeemon stared at the floor for a long while before continuing to speak: "But what really pains me, is the fact that Angewomon was not reborn; she did not allow or did not want her data to be reconfigured. Instead, she went to the dark area…"

The dark area… Veemon heard that before somewhere, but he did not understand what it was in full. Other than the fact that it is the last place he would like to go. Or the fact that it was the home of the infamous Apocalymon.

"You know what kind of data goes to the dark area: the dead, erased type; the ones that are no longer needed or should never have been there in the first place. It is a hell made of pure darkness and negative energy, where abandoned data are dumped and left to corrupt with each other." ExVeemon turned around and looked at Veemon with fear and grief, "I don't even want to imagine what happened to her there…"

Veemon paused in the silence, still digesting the information he had just taken in, "And so you waited and watched, all this time, until Gennai somehow found you?"

"Yes, he somehow found the sword that the nine had been using to absorb data, he didn't know what it was, but he did know that it was dangerous. I am the only free data in here, so he allowed me to physically manifest in his house and make contact… You are probably wondering what this have to do with what is going on right now. Well, during the battle between your friends and Apocalymon, Apocalymon was defeated, but he did self-destruct as a last ditch attack. The effect of the attack was minimized by the children, but it caused far more than just Apocalymon's death. It opened up a rift in the dark area, and from the rift lots of dark data leaked into the digital world."

"Wait, you are saying that she is in this world again? Isn't that a good thing?" Veemon eagerly interrupted him; he just couldn't wait to know more.

"I don't know, but immediately after the nine were released along with you, they found her and somehow kept her hidden from the rest of the world, neither I nor Gennai could make contact or find her. Why they have done this I don't know, but I just wish I had noticed it sooner, I wish I could have found her before them… damn, all of this is my fault…"

"There was nothing you could have done; maybe you should stop blaming yourself now." Veemon tried to say something that might comfort this unfortunate digimon, after knowing what he had been through, it wasn't surprising for Veemon to feel more sympathetic.

"Thank you, but… anyway, yes, she is what the nine meant by 'her'. And both I and Gennai know where that is. What is important right now is that everyone is ready; you need to go and gather them, Veemon, you need to go back."

The thought of returning to everyone still somewhat embarrassed Veemon, but what the heck?! Everything is in danger and he is worrying about his ego? Veemon replied: "But what about Davis?"

"They won't do anything to him, as ruthless as they may be; they need you, which means they also need him. But when you actually find them though, I cannot guarantee your friend's safety."

After thinking for a second, Veemon nodded and said: "Yes, I will do it, don't I need to find Gennai first so I can go back."

"Yes, you do." At this point ExVeemon cheered up slightly and let out a small chuckle, "He is going to be mad… more than mad…"

**Somewhere in the Digital World:**

"Davis… Davis… wake up… open your eyes…"

The voice rang through his head again and again, Davis slowly regained consciousness from the weary fog that enshrouded his mind. It was a hard job just to slowly open his eyelids…

"Davis…! Wake up…!"

_Oww… my head is killing me…_ Crusted blood stuck to one side of his face, Davis was suddenly alert as he felt some kind of binding against his wrists. A dazing pain throbbed on his head where that thing had hit him with the pommel of the sword. Davis kicked his leg a few times and struggled against whatever that tied him up.

"Oh, my… I thought you would never wake up!" Came the frustrated voice in Davis's head.

"Gennai?" He looked around but there was nobody there, he was alone in the middle of a barren wasteland with no apparent signs of life around. Davis realised that he wasn't even tied against anything, but lifted up by his arms in midair. The purple bands that tied around his wrists had bit into the flesh and left painful bruises.

"Yes! It's me, and I've been here for hours!"

"_I'm sorry_." Davis replied in protest, "It's not my fault that some psychopath came and tried to crack my skull!"

"Anyway, I have a fair guess where you are right now and what situation you are in, so-"

"Great! So you are going to tell me how to escape?"

"Don't interrupt me!"

"Sorry…"

"It's impossible for you to escape those bindings, and even if you do, they will still catch you, something big will happen soon, and I need you to prepare for it."

"Talking about that, isn't it about time you let the pill out. You caused quite a bit of trouble with it you know?"

"I will do it when I feel its right! Now shut up and listen!"

"…"

"Good, I don't think I have enough time to tell you why, but the end is coming for Veemon, and I need you to make sure he doesn't fall."

"What?! What did you just say?!" Davis interrupted once again, but this time for pretty good reasons, "What do you mean the end is coming for Veemon? I don't like the sound of that one bit and I need to know what you mean!"

"I really don't have time to tell you, I am barely holding our contact right now! Listen carefully! Think of everything good you have done with Veemon, every happy memory, every good time you have had together, and reflect those feelings into your digi-vice. This is very important! You must do this! You MUST do this as much as you can! Am I clear?"

"Uh… yes, yes! I am clear! But please tell me! Tell me what you mean!"

"I… tri… but… can't… wait… can… hear me…?"

The voice grew weaker and weaker; it wasn't long before it was totally drowned out. Davis sighed in frustration and struggled a bit more. _The end is coming…_ That does not sound good, not at all.

But what else could he possibly do? The digi-vice was in his jacket pocket, this was going to be a tough struggle!

Davis winced and bit his teeth as he pulled himself up on his wrists, the bands of purple energy bit into his wrist further and burnt with pain. He held his breath as he struggled, good thing he was athletic! Davis's fingers trembled from the exertion, he forcibly pressed the button on the digi-vice to turn the machine on and let loose the struggle.

Davis yelled slightly as his body came back down but only dragged his wrist further into the bands, he would not be surprised if they were bleeding.

That's finally done… Good, he relaxed slightly and started thinking about Veemon; the first and foremost feeling was of course, how much he missed him… It had been more than a month since they had last played soccer or something like that together, without Veemon, a lot of fun was sucked right out of Davis's life.

Not that he was surprised; life _would_ be boring without your best pal around. Davis recalled those happy times they had together, those sport games they attempted together, the pranks they played on Jun together, those eating competitions they had together...

Their energetic adolescence brought a small but heartening smile to Davis's face.

**Somewhere Else in the Digital World, again…:**

Kari and the others' messaging was getting desperate, they even called Mimi to go back from New York. Well, at least this was a convenient weekend. Joe had finally had a break from his college work, so he now has time to meet up with the other digi-destined.

Mimi was coming to Japan via the digital world today, and Joe wanted to meet up with her. It had been a long time since they last saw each other, and it would be a warm greeting for a friend he had not seen for quite a bit of time because of the ridiculous amounts of homework.

"Joe, how long have we been here?" Gomamon yawned and asked tiredly, it was true; they had been waiting for almost an hour now.

"Strange, she said this was the time." Joe looked down at his watch and paced around, he laughed and said: "Then again, this is Mimi we are talking about here."

In the distance, Joe made out the rough shape of a big round hat, yeah, that's just so Mimi.

"Come on, let's go." Joe started running up to Mimi as Gomamon jumped up to follow him.

Mimi lifted up an arm and waved widely, "Hey, Joe! Sorry I've taken so long! Good to see you again!"

"Oh, don't worry." He stopped in front of her and smiled, it just felt so good to see her again. "So, how have you been?"

"Me? I have been fine, I heard that school work is really tight, you are catching up alright?" Mimi smiled back and asked warmly.

"I'm managing alright, can't say the same for Tai and Davis though."

"Haha, not surprising, not surprising at all. So, what is the hurry all of a sudden, all this panic about the digital world getting attacked again or something."

"I don't really know either, but we will find out when we find the others."

"Hey, Mimi." Gomamon suddenly interrupted and asked curiously, "Where is Palmon?"

"Oh, she is coming, just wait for a bit." Mimi bent down to stroke Gomamon a few times on the head before turning back to Joe.

_Hmm… that's strange, why would she leave Palmon behind?_ Gomamon watched as Mimi returned to a warm conversation with Joe, _WAIT!_

Gomamon suddenly jumped up and tackled Mimi onto the ground; he struggled and viciously pinned Mimi's arms down.

"Gomamon! What are you…?" Joe stepped forward to stop Gomamon until he saw those lethal looking purple energy blades inside Mimi's sleeves.

Mimi, or what appeared to be Mimi, kicked Gomamon on the side and pushed him off. She then stood up and stared at Joe, who have only just realised how close he was to dying.

Something about her stare sent chills down Joe's spine, he gulped and asked: "Mimi? That's not Mimi! Who are you?!"

"This failure surprises me, I did not realise my disguise could have been so easily recognised."

That was freaky! Joe stumbled back a few steps as a hollow, chilling voice came out from the mouth of Mimi, no, this was definitely not her.

"You have just seen what you didn't. Devious, I am; hidden, I am; camouflaged with what you wouldn't expect, that I also am. I am falsehood incarnate, I prey on your obliviousness and feeds on your doubt, what am I?" Shadowy clouds enveloped Mimi's body and transformed the entire person into a black robed creature, unmoving as it stared at Joe behind its pitch black hood.

_How could I have not expected this! This is what they warned me about!_ Joe instinctively readied his digi-vice and fixed his attention onto the strange enemy.

"Deceit, I am the Shadows of Deceit. Trust what you see, for I am the master of trickery. Follow what you think, for I am the embodiment of hypocrisy."

"Gomamon, where are you." Joe turned slightly to find Gomamon, who seems to have somehow disappeared.

"Marching Fishes!"

"Aahh!" Joe yelled as several fish smacked him in the face and knocked him onto the ground; just imagine his shock at being attacked by his partner! "Gomamon! What are you doing?!"

Gomamon appeared before his eyes in a flash and brought his claw down at him, but something seems to have stopped Gomamon's body in mid air, the action seems very… mechanical…

_What…? What am I doing?! _Gomamon struggled as something controlled and moved his body like a puppet, he tensed up every muscle to avoid taking unwanted actions, but that force was too strong!

"Presume, because you never know what someone is thinking. Believe, because any promise can be false. Trust, because it shall summon only me. What am I?" Another voice came from behind Joe; he panicked and walked several steps back to avoid flanking before looking back at the second opponent, who was identical to the first one.

"Treachery, I am the Tendrils of Treachery. Beliefs and trust can be so easily betrayed, every emotion can be swayed, every motive can be influenced, better yet, and every action can bring doubt, and inevitably, controlled."

_Oh no… what have I got myself into…_ Joe looked desperately between the two creatures and the trembling Gomamon, and then was the next thought:

_What the heck have they done to Mimi and Palmon…?_

* * *

Sorry for not updating, I had a few friends around for two days and things got a bit wild. I will try and do more quickly.

Also sorry for this chapter not moving things on very much, but don't worry, more is coming.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	25. Chapter 25 Her

Hello!

Joe is getting ganged up and Mimi has disappeared, this is going to be fair…

Oh, before that, Davis is about to get the biggest scare in his life.

Here we go…

* * *

**Chapter 25: "Her"**

The boredom of being tied up all by himself had sent Davis to sleep, but given how uncomfortable it is, staying asleep for long was not easy.

Davis opened his eyes as his back hurt from the cramp, much to his surprise this time though, he wasn't alone.

_Hmm?_ Ahead of him, a figure sat on the floor, not very far away from him.

It was an Angewomon, Davis barely made it out by the helmet and wings, but this wasn't Kari's Angewomon, he just somehow knew.

But something felt so alien about this particular digimon.

She just sat there, all lonely and curled up. Her arms wrapped around her thin legs and her helmet-hidden head rested on her knees, completely obscuring her face. There was something not right about her, even her wings were down, which is something that Davis had never seen from Kari's Angewomon.

Just looking at her made Davis feel… empty… sad, angry, bitter, frustrated, all that.

"Um… Hello?" Davis asked unsurely, there was no reply, not even a slight reaction, "Hello? I am Motomiya Daisuke; they took me hostage here, what about you?"

Silence…

She didn't even budge…

Davis stared at the strange digimon, he wondered if she was conscious… or if she was alive at all… because she just didn't move, not even breathing. Just like a statue…

A flash of purple light caught Davis's attention, to his right, one of the robed beings appeared with two unconscious Fugamons next to him.

"Hey! You!" Davis quickly shouted at it, "What are you planning here? What do you want with Veemon?! Tell me!"

It simply ignored him, just like an annoying fly.

With two jolts of purple electricity, the Fugamons suddenly woke up from their artificial slumber as the creature teleported away in a puff of smoke and dust.

The Fugamons looked around curiously at where they had been brought to, their bone clubs ready in their hands. Davis wondered why these two stupid brutes were brought here.

It wasn't long before they noticed the Angewomon sitting on the floor, instinct drove them to get closer to find out what she was.

Was it really safe to leave her with those two? Davis didn't really think so.

His suspicion was justified, one of the two Fugamons lifted up a club and charged towards Angewomon with a yell as if it was about to attack.

"Hey! Run! Get away!" Davis suddenly jumped up in an attempt to get the Angewomon to move, the Fugamon was rapidly coming up to her!

And she still just sat there.

…

Davis didn't really know what happened, but all he knew was a sudden explosion of a thick mist of blood that obscured whatever was going on there…

A heart-wrenching scream was heard as the Fugamon lay on the floor in a pool of blood, his arms and legs were torn from his body and hung in midair around him.

Davis's jaws gapped opened and he stared frozen at the sight that made him feel sick.

The torn limbs fell onto the floor and something smashed down on the Fugamon's head and sent the skull exploding in a spray of blood and brains.

The other Fugamon was absolutely terrified by what just happened, he turned and was about to flee for his life until something telekinetically grabbed him and lifted him up into midair. Davis forced his eyes shut as the body started clicking and the upper torso started turning to its left in a clearly unnatural way…

"CRACK!"

A hot splash of blood splattered onto his face as Davis abruptly opened his eyes, he wish he hadn't…

He was staring at the severed upper torso of a still alive Fugamon; his face was twisted by the pain, the eyes showing the indescribable horror of his last moments before disappearing as data.

Fear and disgust froze Davis in place; he could not believe what he just saw…

Until the churning in his stomach reached the limit of his control and made him throw up what little food in his stomach…

_What… the… hell… was that…?_

Tears welled up in his eyes as Davis could not get those sickening images out of his head! He opened his eyes and looked…

She was still sitting there…

She hasn't moved at all, completely still, completely normal, haven't made even a whimper of a sound…

There are no words to describe how horrified Davis was…

**Joe's Position:**

Gomamon swung left and right as if in a seizure to escape whatever took over his body. He was trapped in between two opponents and things weren't looking good!

Joe strained his eyes and could just barely make out thin wires that were only visible because of the prismatic light from the sun. They extended from the long sleeves of one of the robed creatures and buried themselves into Gomamon's joints. That must be what's wrong with Gomamon!

Joe unfolded his Swiss Army Knife and hesitated slightly, the robed beings gave off an unmistakable air of intimidation. He readied himself before daringly dashing forward and brought the small knife down on the wires. They snapped and Gomamon slammed onto the floor from the sudden disappearance of strain.

"Quickly! Joe!"

Joe aimed the digi-vice and said:

"Gomamon digivolve to…"

"Ikkakumon!"

Ikkakumon turned his head and aimed at the first opponent…

_What… the… heck…?_

Standing where the creature was, were three identical robed beings walking towards Ikkakumon in quick silent steps, not even slightly intimidated by horn that aimed at them.

_Doesn't matter, attack them!_ Ikkakumon lowered his head and growled:

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

A black horn shot forth from his head and split in mid-air to reveal the small torpedo inside. The missile flew straight into one of the three and passed right through it before exploding somewhere in the background…

_What was that…?_ Ikkakumon stared at what just happened.

"A… phantom?" Joe watched for a few more second seconds as Ikkakumon fired several other shots at them.

The three robed beings disappeared…

And five more appeared!

_What the… how am I suppose to attack them like this?!_ Ikkakumon jumped back to fire several shots at each one of them.

After the first few shots they all disappeared again and now there are ten of them!

_No surprises… just another one of their abilities…_ Joe watched their movement carefully.

They had both forgot about the other one.

Joe quickly turned around at that thought; he searched the corners of his vision for their black robe…

Too late! Rainbow coloured strings jumped out from the bushes and wrapped themselves Joe's elbows and knees, some kind of twisted manipulation took hold of his actions…

Joe fell onto the ground on his knees and raised both hands up with the knife gripped in his palm…

"What are you doing?!" Ikkakumon turned around to pounce at Joe as he brought both hands down to stab himself in the stomach.

_NO! Stop!_ Joe struggled against his own muscles as his arms brought the knife down onto his body, he could not stand against the force! His hands started sweating and cramped as the tip of the knife touched flesh, _come on, Ikkakumon…_

Ikkakumon jumped at Joe and pushed his arms onto the ground. This was one opportunity to attack that the robed creature couldn't miss! All the phantoms disappeared as it dashed forward to stab Ikkakumon with a purple energy blade. Ikkakumon wasn't slow to react either, he turned his head and jabbed his horn at the robed creature several times, effectively locking each other in position.

"Icicle Coat!"

Spikes of ice protruded from the ground around Ikkakumon and forced the creature to jump back. He immediately decided to follow up on the attack…

If not for Joe suddenly jumping up and stabbed Ikkakumon in the side…

_What am I doing?! Let go of the knife! Quick!_ Joe tried with all he could to let go of the knife which he had stabbed into the side of Ikkakumon's ribs, but he only made it worse! Ikkakumon hissed as Joe twisted the blade to make the wound bigger, red blood soaking his white fur.

It became pretty clear by now that the other creature's ability is to manipulate actions, but how could Joe possibly had the strength to pierce Ikkakumon's hide with a Swiss Army knife?!

The situation was awkward; Ikkakumon had to defend both Joe and himself from two overpowering opponents!

Ikkakumon swung his paw and severed the rainbow coloured wires glowing in the air. He immediately fired several missiles into the bush where the creature was hiding.

They were relentless, just as Ikkakumon focused on the puppet-master, the cloning shadow dashed at him, its energy blades flashing through the air and agilely slashed at Ikkakumon in a deadly dance. Ikkakumon had no choice, he turned his head and forced it back with his horn. Sensing its disadvantage, the clone completely wrapped itself in the cloak of its robe and vanished in thin air.

Joe moved back slightly to watch out for the other opponent, _strange… the digi-vice says that its coming this way…_ he looked around, the clone was gone and the puppet master was nowhere in sight.

It is right at his position! That's weird, it's not around…

_Then…_

A shadow that slowly loomed over him caught Joe's attention…

It was above him!

Too late to even move! Joe instinctively lifted up his arms and covered his face as if waiting for any blow to strike down. Its black robe flapping in the winds, two energy orbs gathered in its hands as the creature readied a strike against Joe's head.

A powerful gale rushed past Joe and knocked him over.

Something swooped overhead and caught the creature just before it reached Joe. It was Lillymon in flight.

Lillymon grabbed the thing by the waist before swinging it in the air a few times and sending it flying. The puppet-master, seemingly intimidated by the disadvantage that had just presented itself, quickly retreated back into the bushes.

"Thank god… you got here…" Joe sat on the floor and panted, that was a bit close…

"No problem, I am just glad I managed to get here in time." She walked up to Joe in a gesture to pull him up, but they were still alert, the enemies were not gone…

Ikkakumon turned his head a few times, something was not right…

"Oh, no you don't!" He quickly jumped back and swung his huge paws down at Lillymon; he caught her on the shoulder and thrashed her harshly into a nearby tree. "Palmon and Mimi would never leave each other! The fact that you can only camouflage as one is the failure in your disguise!"

_Damn! I couldn't believe I fell for that again!_ Joe quickly stood back up and looked out for the other enemy. He didn't have to wait for long as it burst out from the bushes and readied a coordinated attack together.

Ikkakumon and Joe stood back to back, the phantom cloner split his image into five once again, they marched forward to his position in identical fluid paces. Ikkakumon kept up the fire but every attack only caused the clones to duplicate.

They weren't going to win without any reinforcements!

They are just a few metres away now; Joe was dodging flailing wires with all his worth! Getting caught by even one would be terribly problematic. There was no point in this anymore! They are cornered and they are just getting worn down!

Joe turned quickly to see anything he could... it doesn't matter if he get caught, the result will be the same!

_Common sense… that's all you need!_

"Ikkakumon! Attack the one with the shadow!" Joe shouted quickly as something stung deep into his back.

_Of course!_ The illusion may fool their eyes, but it does not fool the light of the sun. The twelve phantoms jumped up simultaneously to attack Ikkakumon, but this time, they lose!

Seeing the one stretched shadow cast down by the overhead sunshine, Ikkakumon jumped up and skewered that one right on his horn. The moment black blood splattered and blinded his vision, every other clone disappeared.

_Yes! _He shook his head left and right quickly before slamming the body hard onto the floor. The sensation of finally being able to counter attack felt _so _good! Now it's time to find Joe!

Ikkakumon turned around and froze as he saw Joe hanging from a tree. He was struggling against the wires tied around his neck like a noose. Joe stretched out and flailed his arm as he gasped for air and fought back the pain, "I'm coming!" Ikkakumon dashed forward to Joe's position, but behind him, something suddenly moved…

_What?! It isn't dead yet?_ The creature cloaked itself and vanished once again, it has learned from the previous mistake and jumped under the shade of trees, now not even sunlight can show its position.

Never mind! Ikkakumon turned and fired above Joe's head, severing the wires and freeing Joe's body.

Joe coughed violently and took huge mouthfuls of air, Ikkakumon rushed to his side quickly, but he did not get there first.

"Watch out behind you!"

The two of them heard Mimi and Palmon's voice, but Ikkakumon didn't wait, he immediately fired a torpedo towards Joe's position, interrupting the phantom that just appeared out of nowhere behind Joe, ready to slit Joe's throat.

"Got you!" Joe yelled as he jumped back towards Ikkakumon. The smoke cleared and the phantom vanished, except Joe's Swiss Army Knife was floating in midair, its torch turned on full, a shining beacon stuck firmly in the invisible enemy.

"Good one Joe!" Ikkakumon did not hesitate to unleash an endless barrage of Harpoon Torpedoes at the position of the knife. The phantom was caught off-guard by the failure of its stealth, it attempted to dodge and jump away, but was far too unprepared and within seconds, was blasted into a storm of fading black confetti.

"Stay still everyone!" Palmon gave the instruction. Everyone was aware there was another opponent, but it was completely hidden in the surrounding bushes. They were wary of what to do, but at least it seems that Palmon had a plan.

Palmon stood in-between the two bushes, the vines extending from her claws and digging deep into the ground, her eyes were closed, every part of her mind focusing completely into the surrounding area, she was waiting… for any movement.

Several snake-like strings slowly crept out from a nearby shrub, in the shade it was invisible to the naked eye, yet as it travelled, it struck a leaf.

"Poison Ivy!"

With a yell, Palmon's vines thrust out of the earth from beneath the robed creature and impaled it from all sides, trapping it in a cage of thorny ivy.

"Leave the rest to me!" Came Veemon's voice deeper into the bush.

Hearing this, the robed creature did not hesitate any longer, it gave up fight, bursting into a bolt of smoking darkness and darted away across the sky.

An unexpected and abrupt end to the battle…

"Where were you guys?!" Ikkakumon de-digivolved back into Gomamon and shouted furiously at the late Mimi and Palmon.

"That thing ambushed us as Joe! We…" Palmon looked slightly ashamed at being defeated, "I… fell for it."

"Don't sweat it, so did I…" Joe added guiltily.

Gomamon panted heavily from the exertion and looked worriedly, he replied, "Sorry, I shouldn't have shouted at you, are you alright?"

"Veemon found us before we could have been killed, but I guess they thought they could just come for you next." Mimi sat next to Joe and took out a handy first aid kit, "They didn't even fight, the two of those creatures just ran away at the sight of Veemon."

"OK, this whole thing is just not making sense; we need to get to the others as soon as possible." Gomamon tried to be brave and ignore the stinging pain in his side, but it didn't take long for Palmon to notice though.

"Of course, Mr. Obvious. Now stay still while I treat your wound." Palmon replied slightly more cheerfully as Veemon appeared out of the bushes to catch up with the four of them.

* * *

Sorry about the gruesome beginning of this chapter if you are squeamish, personally, I love those scenes…

And please don't blame me for skipping out a battle scene dedicated to Mimi, I never expected her to be much of a warrior. Anyway, the story telling will continue, despite there is still one more fight to go through…

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	26. Chapter 26 Awaited Gathering

Hello!

I am not going to say anything else now, just try and let the story push itself forward; with one more battle to go now.

Read on!

* * *

**Chapter 26: Awaited Gathering**

"Well, it seems like I didn't have to go to Gennai after all, which is better really, I am still quite annoyed with him." Veemon walked down the familiar street ways of Odaiba with Mimi, Joe, Palmon and a bandaged up Gomamon. They had all come back together using their digi-vices; it was good to be back…

If not for the fact that Veemon could not stop worrying about Davis… and the dreaded confrontation with Gatomon.

"Why? What have that cranky old man done now?" Mimi asked curiously, she was evidently excited about being back in Japan again, "Talking about that, why were you in the digital world all by yourself?"

"Oh, long story." Veemon sighed; he couldn't even begin to explain what had happened in this past month. The others stared at him unconvinced, "Seriously, I mean, _long_ story."

"Right, anyway. I suppose I should be grateful we escaped alright, how about you Joe?"

"Oh, it's alright." Joe couldn't stop rubbing the red marks around his neck, "Just a bit sore. I really want some answers to all this trouble."

"Don't worry; you will get them once we get to Tai's." Veemon nodded slightly, _Tai's…_ that meant facing everybody else again…

_Oh, man, how is he going to talk…?_

**At the Kamiya's:**

"Right! Everybody is here!" Kari stood up and looked around; it had been quite a hard job to finally get everyone here. Even Matt, who was greatly injured and bandaged up in various places, forced himself to attend.

"Except for Davis, he won't be able to make it." Veemon sat down and looked around, the atmosphere in the room was… "heavy"…

"Why? Is he ill?"

"No, he has been abducted, by those robed creatures." Veemon tried to sneak a glance at Gatomon, who was sitting on a sofa opposite him. He lifted up his head just for a peek, but only to notice that Gatomon was trying to do the same. Their eyes met for half an embarrassing second before both of them quickly turning away.

_You… have feelings for her?_ The voice rang through Veemon's head, he panicked slightly to realise that ExVeemon could probably read his thoughts…

_Shut up!_

"What?!" Everybody tensed up at that statement. "Wait." Izzy started doing the calculations once again, "Kari and her lot got one. I and Kabuterimon killed one. Matt and Garurumon got one and according to you two…" He pointed at Mimi and Joe, "You both got one."

"Well, not exactly, but yes." Joe replied, still a bit shaken from the battle.

"Then how many of them _are _there?!" That was indeed one thing everybody was worried about.

"Nine." Veemon broke the silence, "and four are still left alive. Out of which one was responsible for my stay at the hospital."

"Still four left…" The figure was rather intimidating, it was of course Tai's job to cheer everyone up, "Oh well, if each one of you can take one of them on, then they stand no chance against all 12… 11 of us!"

Veemon didn't really want to demoralise everyone, but it was better that they were prepared than optimistic but clueless, so he said: "Alone they can be taken down like this, and apparently that is just how they can fight in the real world. But in the digital world, they power is more than multiplied when they are together. If we fight head on… I… don't really think we can win."

Everybody stared silently at Veemon, "Wait, how do you know all this?!" Yolei was the first one of the many to bombard Veemon with questions.

"Guys, please!" Ken rather successfully quietened everybody down, "One at a time would be better."

"Look, I… cannot explain." Veemon searched his head for something to say, he really didn't want to explain to everybody his background, he wanted everything to be normal, and he certainly didn't want everybody to be afraid of him.

_Maybe it's better if you tell them, after all, they are your team, and they trust you…_

_Then they should also trust me to make the right decisions. No, it's better this way._

"A lot has happened, okay?" Veemon shook his head and closed his eyes, he didn't like the feeling of everybody staring at him, "I have a lot of information which will prove very useful to you guys, I will give help when any of you need it, just trust me."

Not that anyone didn't trust Veemon, but there really are a lot of suspicions. How did he manage to defeat that robed creature so easily when both Mimi and Joe together could not handle it? Gatomon wondered how he even managed to recover from the injuries…

But what everybody thought… was _"Veemon has changed"_…

"Anyway, so, what is the plan?" Veemon eagerly changed the topic.

"Well, first, I called us here for the sake of safety, after Izzy was attacked we had realised that those creatures were trying to hunt us down, unfortunately we weren't quick enough to gather without some of us getting hurt. Secondly, I planned for us to go to the digital world together and see Gennai, since that he is refusing electronic contact from us. Considering the current situation, I don't think he will refuse to help. Third and lastly, we will find those creatures and stop whatever they are planning. And now that Davis is kidnapped, I think we must add that in too."

_Hmm… didn't need me to prepare them after all…_ Veemon thought silently, Kari sure has grown into some kind of a leader.

_Disappointed?_

_I… why should I be?_

_Just asking…_

"We should go as soon as possible, but we should also be as prepared as possible, is there anything else we should know, Veemon?"

"Uh…" Veemon thought about everything he had learnt, not much to say really…

_You do realise that those other five that are apparently killed would still be alive, right? Given how I killed them all and they are still powerful as ever._

_Oh, no! That means… no, I should just go and do this alone…_

_Don't be foolish! Without the power of their crests you will be… well, I don't really know what they are planning to do with you, but you need your friends…_

_Then what should I do?! I am not going to risk everyone's life because I need to do something myself!_

_Then protect them! Isn't that what you have always been doing?_

_I… I suppose…_

"Well, the thing about these creatures is that they can be temporarily crippled, but not permanently killed. Given that five of them have been beaten up pretty badly by us all, there should only be the chance of us getting attacked by four of them. We should be able to stop them after defeating them all. Other than that, there isn't much more to say."

Everyone looked at each other again, it had been two years since they last fought together, the prospects of another campaign was rather disheartening, but oh well, they were being attacked, so it's only natural for them to counter it. "When should we go?"

"Tomorrow morning. You guys will… have to stay over tonight…" Tai looked around the room awkwardly; this was going to be a tight fit… Not mention how mad his mother is going to be at the inevitable mess.

**Midnight:**

Tai's snoring was rather irritating, not helped by the fact the Veemon was having trouble going to sleep in the first place.

Not that he was surprised; he would never be able to sleep when Davis is in the hands of those things. And the fact that he felt uncertain around everybody, he was afraid… of himself.

_You should rest, you will need it._

_I am resting; I just don't need to go to sleep._

_You haven't realised how important this really is, have you? Neither have any of the others._

_I know it's important…_

_If you fail, I am sure that the consequences aren't any less dire than what Apocalymon or MaloMyotismon would have caused, none of your friends have quite realised that, not that it's their fault… Oh, well, let's talk about something a bit jollier…_

_You think I could possibly be happy right now?_

_You always have been cheerful and upbeat haven't you? Tell me, do you have feelings for her?_

_…_

_I understand if you don't trust me enough._

_No, it's not that. I just don't feel that I am much of a friend to her anymore, never mind how I have shouted at her, but look at what I am… I don't feel like I am much of a friend to _anyone_ anymore…_

"Are you really going tomorrow?"

Veemon heard a voice from the balcony in the next room.

"Yes, I am. But don't worry, it's not like we will never see each other again or something."

That was Patamon's voice, Veemon felt curious, he stood up silently and walked a bit closer to the window to hear better.

"But I don't like fighting! It's so dangerous and…"

"I know, neither do I, but it's not like that we have a choice."

_Oh, its Gatomon… talking to Patamon again…_ Veemon looked down sadly before turning around to walk back to the couch.

_Is that why you shouted at her?_

_Yes… but I admit I was not in my right mind; believe me that I wouldn't have normally done that._

Veemon was about to go back to sleep before he froze, because he just saw Gatomon, in front of him…

_What?!_ He quickly got up and walked back to the window.

"I'll come with you!"

"No, Mikemon, please look after yourself, I wouldn't know what to do if you somehow got hurt in all this."

Veemon took a peek: sitting on the railings of the balcony, was a Gatomon, but not _the_ Gatomon. Her slick black fur barely visible against the dark blue night sky, she looked at Patamon sulkily as he tried to comfort her.

"Then… I'll bring help! My friends can help, you wouldn't believe how scary that Renamon can be!"

"Haha, I believe you."

_What…_Veemon stuttered at what he saw, and heard: the almost identical voice of Gatomon, the way the two of them talked together… it reminded him of…

_No… no… I… I shouted at her… for this misunderstanding?_ Everything became a bit all _too_ clear, _tell me I'm wrong, those two I heard at the hospital, they were Patamon and Gatomon, weren't they?_

_Do you want that to be true? Or do you want to deny and not face up to the truth?_

_If it is…_ He couldn't believe what he had done; he messed up everything, because of this? Tears began to accumulate in his eyes, _how could I ever even look at her again…?_ Veemon leaned against the wall and cried in silent sobs.

_I'm sorry… I don't really know how to help you…_

_You don't need to…_ Veemon chuckled hysterically in an attempt to keep his cool, _its better this way, saves her from ditching _me_ when she discovers what I am._

_… It's not like you to think this way, is it?_

_How do you know how I think?_

_I have been watching you, of course._

_What do you mean? You are saying that ever after I was released, you have been watching me?_

_Yes, without any contact though._

_Then why didn't you contact me?_

_You had more important things at hand, such as defeating MaloMyotismon, remember? I… didn't really know what to feel. When I watched you slaughter and destroy as a machine, I… resented you… because you weren't who you are; you were what the nine made you... I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying this._

_No, continue on, what did you think of me after I was released?_

_I wasn't really sure, but one thing I can say though, is that after watching you play with your friends, as you fought for them, for everyone, when you rid the world off an abomination like MaloMyotismon, I was awed. Considering how you were born, and what you did. Veemon saved the world! A change of purpose? The right words, but nowhere near strong or good enough!_

_Hehe, thank you…_ Veemon felt slightly better at what he heard, it was good to know that ExVeemon did not actually think of him as a machine. He sat down onto the ground and slowly allowed the sleepiness to take over, hoping for a sweet dream without realising that Gatomon had been silently watching his strange behaviour this whole time.

* * *

There we go, not a very long chapter, but the beginning of their campaign, which shouldn't take too long… hopefully…

Great, now I have to think of a not-so-easy way for the two of them to make up again… somehow…

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	27. Chapter 27 Ambush

Hello!

Now, Veemon is finally back with Gatomon, but how will either of them open up to each other though? If they aren't too busy staying alive anyway…

Here it is!

* * *

**Chapter 27: Ambush**

The smell of dew covered grass in the morning was like a natural perfume to the air in the digital world. They were back, back again to find out whatever danger was lying in wait.

Morning came rather quickly, the sleep was short, but it was enough.

Mrs. Kamiya was all the nicer, she didn't at all get annoyed with Tai for inviting so many people over, instead she even got up early to cook them breakfast. Maybe… she just knew this was something very important, although no one had told her.

"Whoa…" everybody gasped at the massive crater of brown that marred the beauty of the wood land around this area, Veemon had led them here, because this is where they had last saw Gennai.

"You are saying… those nine things caused this?" T.K. stared at the wasteland, almost in terror at the implication of those creatures' power. This strange piece of scorched earth that dug several meters into the ground and stretched for half a mile in diameter, what sort of strength must someone have to cause this type of damage?

"Yes, this is why they are so dangerous together." Veemon stood there and looked over where he had first tasted the power of absorbed data, the memories of that day made him shiver.

_Davis__…_

"So, where is Gennai?" Izzy looked around, Gennai really has totally cut himself off from any sort of communication, and not even his laptop can display his location.

"He is in hiding, from those creatures. We will have to go down to the lake and wait." Veemon walked on toward what's left of the shores. Hopefully, this time he will actually show himself properly…

"Why is he hiding like this?" Yolei complained like always, although the complaint was kind of justified.

"Well, he is more powerful than he looks, but against all of the nine he stands no chance. Apparently any sort of electronic communication he makes with us will expose his position, and the information he knows about us are dangerous in the wrong hands." Veemon explained patiently as they strolled down the path to the pebble covered shore.

He stopped walking abruptly and looked with fear at Gennai's wooden house floating on top of the lake…

Everybody else did the same, because the house was totally wrecked, holes were all over the structure and bits of charred black covered the walls where it must have been burnt. This place had evidently received a brutal ransacking…

"Oh no…" Sora walked towards onto the shore and tried to detect any sort of activity around, the house was totally silent, "Do you think Gennai could be in there? Do you think he is…?"

"We have to find out!" Cody followed her and took out his digi-vice, the house appeared as a dark zone on the satellite, something totally blocked it out.

Gatomon, Gomamon, Patamon and Hawkmon digivolved into Nefertimon, Ikkakumon, Pegasusmon and Halsemon, together they carried the group across the lake before de-digivolving back to themselves as they arrived on the floating doorsteps of the house.

Everybody stared demoralised at the irreparable damage done to the house, "For some reason I _really_ don't want to go in there." Mimi was the first the moan.

"Well, it's not like we have a choice." Kari walked forward and opened the fold-screen door and looked inside, it was pitch black and she could barely see for a few metres… "Actually, you are right about the 'I have a bad feeling about this' part…"

"Come on! The sooner this is over the better!" Matt turned on his torch and strolled inside with Gabumon, who was slightly embarrassed at his slowly regenerating horn.

"Alright, let's go!" Veemon quickly walked passed Matt to lead to group on…

Something felt… weird… look at how many rooms are in here, Veemon kept walking in this corridor, it felt so long! Far longer than the house looked from the outside!

Although he shouldn't really be surprised, someone like Gennai would naturally have some kind of house that looks small from the outside but far bigger inside.

But this had only added to the creepiness of this place, because it was just pitch black, the darkness seemed devouring, both mentally and physically. Every room and wall was dirty and scorched, the traditional Japanese screen walls were knocked down and littered all over the place, furniture and the like lay strewn across the floors…

This place didn't look like a house any more… it looked like a haunted mansion abandoned for at least a hundred years…

"Whoa, this place sure is freaky… it is _so_ much bigger on the…" Veemon stopped talking quickly, _where is Matt's torch light...?_ He quickly turned around, "Um… guys?"

He was alone.

**Somewhere else:**

Izzy ran through the corridor as he sweated and panted, the only sound he could hear was his own footsteps and heavy breathing, "Tentomon?! Where are you?!"

There were three corridors in front of him, left, right, or straight on? He just ran forward, and it wasn't long before another path in the same shape came across him.

_This place… it's the same!_ He looked inside a few rooms through the knocked down screen walls, _the rooms… they are also the same!_

It was true; every room had the same layout, the same furnishing, all just arranged in a different direction.

_This is a maze…_ _a trap!_ Izzy quickly turned around a few times, searching for anything from the corner of his vision… because he wasn't alone…

_We should not have come in here…_ Izzy lifted up his trembling arms and looked at the digi-vice, it was useless, the screen just wouldn't show anything.

…

_Something…_

Izzy swung himself around stared at the empty, dark corridor.

_No…_ _something was definitely there._

Izzy walked back a few paces in fear, they should never have come in… it was so obviously a trap.

…

A cold hand fell down onto his shoulders.

**Somewhere Else:**

This was just too quiet…

It was needless to say.

The silence was crushing; it drained everything away from this place. The walls were so close the each other, the claustrophobic environment threatened to petrify T.K. with fear.

He was alone, but being alone in this place was different.

Something rang in his ear, it had been like a worm, gnawing at his senses, but it was something he instinctively ignored.

_What is it?_

It sounded like… a chant… a choir? Or something.

_Whatever it is…? I have to find everybody else!_ T.K. held onto the walls and walked on, what was with this strange melody?

"Help… me… Takeru… help…"

"Matt?" T.K. was suddenly alert, the voice… that faint whispering voice! It's not far ahead!

"… Help…"

"I'm coming! I am coming!" T.K. picked up pace, what was wrong? He hoped that Matt wasn't…

T.K. stopped.

He stood there, trembling as tears slowly filled his eyes, fear totally freezing him in place…

Matt's body hung from a bloody rope attached to the invisible ceiling. Blood totally soaked his shirt a dark, slimy red…

He fell onto his knees, watching his brother's lifeless eyes staring back at him…

"No…" T.K. let out an unbelieving breath, he watched as more blood seeped from Matt's nose and mouth, "No… No! No!"

"Where… were… you…"

He heard those breathless words from Matt! He didn't know what to do!

"I… trusted… you…"

"Matt! MATT!" T.K. cried out as he tried to reach out for his brother, he ran towards him! But he just seemed to get further and further away…

"I thought… you would… save me…"

The corpse's mouth moved as it spoke in deathly whispers…

T.K. collapsed onto the floor while sobbing hysterically, what was this?! The melody rang through his head with its dark, sinister notes… the whole thing was beginning to threaten his sanity!

But… _wait…_ T.K. quickly opened up his eyes and thought hard,_ no… this is… not like Matt…_

He looked up again, biting his lips against the splitting head ache because of the chorus.

"You… failed…"

_That's… right!_ T.K. stood up and wiped his tears away, "No! _You_ have failed! Matt would never say anything like that to me! He would _never_ blame anyone else for what happens to him!"

"You lied…"

"Break it!" T.K. swung his arm at the illusion, even though he knew that this was fake, the sight was still gruesome enough to scare him, "Your tricks won't work against me!"

After a few seconds of silence, T.K. was slightly relieved as the whole room itself seemed to groan and everything around him began to distort and dissolve into nothing.

"No! Sam! NO! I AM SORRY, SAM! I'm sorry…" T.K. heard Ken's grief stricken voice, he turned around and saw him struggling on the floor in fits, "Come back! I'm sorry! Please come back!"

"Ken! Wake up!" T.K. shook Ken vigorously in an attempt to wake him up.

"I didn't mean to get you involved… sorry, mother, father! I didn't mean for you to get hurt in all this! I didn't mean for any of this!"

Sora was affected too, so it seems, T.K. was the only one able to resist the illusions, he wonders why.

T.K., along with Sora, Ken, Patamon, Biyomon and Wormmon are in one of the abandoned rooms in what's left of Gennai's house, but this place was different. Because he saw sunlight coming through the broken ceiling, which the "other" place totally did not have.

It was a slight struggle waking them up, but after receiving a few accidental punches to the face from Sora, T.K. succeeded.

All three of them were shaken up pretty badly, which is hardly surprising considering what they had just seen. But the digimons didn't seem too affected, they had only passed out.

"Where is everybody else?" Sora stood up and looked around; there weren't any signs of anybody other than them six.

"They must be still in here somewhere." Ken did the same thing, at the moment, there is no sense of hostility, "This place was huge inside, like a maze, and we somehow got separated."

"Damn, this whole thing was one huge trap. We should have seen it coming!" T.K. was worried about everyone else, if they had all been affected by those visions… that would be bad, "But why did they bring the three of us out here?"

"T.K., we need to find the others!" Patamon tugged at T.K.'s trousers, he ran towards the entrance of the room, "we need to find them, we need to know where they are!"

"Yeah, let's go!" Biyomon ran out of the room with Sora behind her.

"Wait! Everybody wait!" It was Wormmon's turn to speak, and it was a good advice too, "I have a feeling that someone brought us here on purpose. And I don't think it is anybody other than our enemies. If that is so, then they must know where and how we are."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that the enemies could attack us any moment. They were keeping us trapped, so they could kill us one by one; I guess it just wasn't our turn yet…"

"What?!" T.K. jumped at that comment, "That would mean… everybody else is in danger! We need to find them!"

Suddenly, three lines of light surrounded them just as T.K. finished the sentence, the lines joint into a triangle and with a flash, sliced off the triangular piece of land underneath their feet.

Everybody yelled as the ground gave away and they sank into the cold, murky water of the lake. They panicked, the enemy was around here!

What was around? Everybody looked left and right frantically trying to search for any signs of the enemy.

"You were the only one who could resist my powers, my visions of dread, the sight that demoralise the hardest of beings. What did you see? Tell me, what was the feeling you had as you saw the life escape from your dear brother? Tell me, for it is me. Tell me, what am I?"

_What? This looks exactly the same as…_ T.K. turned to look at his enemy, the mysterious robed beings, what was this one? _So this thing is responsible for all those mind tricks!_

"Despair, I am the Melody of Despair. I am hardly surprised that you broke through my illusions, why? Because you are hope, you had hope. However, hope is a dangerous thing. For every bit of hope you have, despair shall bring you twice as much pain."

A radiant aura spread forth from the creature like a sonic net waiting to capture the children and their digimon. That was its attack!

"Everybody! Don't listen to it! That must be its attack!" Sora shouted for everybody to go, acting like a caring person she is, "Swim for the shores! Quickly! We are at a disadvantage here!"

Everybody started paddling at once; they swam with the effort as if escaping from a shark. As they all headed towards the shore straight as a laser beam, they were forced to halt as a wall of ethereal blue flames that burnt on water like oil covered their way.

"You care for them all, don't you?" Yet another creepy monotone sounded, this time directing its voice at Sora, "Because you love them all, because you want to care for them all. It is a strong sensation indeed, a hidden motivation that can drive people to achieve impossible goals. But I am an even stronger emotion, I am the contrary of you, but yet I can be just as enthralling, what am I?"

"Everybody! Swim underneath!" Sora was the first to lead on.

"Hatred, I am the Inferno of Hatred. Your hidden animosity, the accumulated fury of all your repugnance and detestation. Unleash that wrath, embrace this feeling, and let it guide you further than love will ever do."

"What rubbish are they talking about?" Ken looked between the two of them in a panic, this was not good… they were trapped in water with two unknown opponents…

But the one direction people always forget to look in these situations…

Is underneath…

Something grabbed T.K., Sora and Ken by the ankle; they struggled for less than a second before being hauled down into the lake.

"KEN!" Wormmon dived down into the lake and digivolved into Stingmon in a flash.

Three grotesque long arms stretched from the murky bottoms of the lake and ended with a claw that latched onto the three children's ankles. Stingmon didn't waste a second before severing each one of them in quick succession.

As everybody floated back up and gasped for breath, they stared in horror at the arrival of a third enemy.

"What are you doing? Atoning? In your mind, you have never truly forgiven yourself for what you have done, have you?" This time, the last enemy spoke to Ken, "You also know that you don't deserve to be forgiven, don't you? But you are trying; you are trying to undo everything in the past. You are being kind, you are trying to show kindness with every chance you have. But why? Because you were once the opposite of that? Yes, you were once the embodiment of me. So you should know, what am I?"

"Shut up!" Ken shouted furiously at the creature, because he _knew_ what it was talking about, "I am trying! I will try and I always will! I _was_ cruel, but I will never be cruel again!"

"Correct. Cruelty, I am the Claws of Cruelty. It felt good, didn't it? To unleash all your anger on the bodies of others and watch them suffer as they feel your pain. It was enjoyable, wasn't it? To have the power to do whatever you wanted without ever feeling guilty about what they felt, or rather, without feeling anything at all. I will let you relive those moments, onto yourself."

And so the impossible battle began…

* * *

Right, here we go…

I don't know what to say other than keep reading, three on three, but still hardly fair.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	28. Chapter 28 Chaos of the Lake

Hello!

I am soooooooooooo sorry for this long delay, holiday finished and a whole week of exams followed; everyday was packed full with exams of every single subject. These were quite important so I had to force myself to (unsuccessfully) revise, well, now that's over, I can finally relax a bit and concentrate on my fanfic again.

Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Chapter 28: Chaos of the Lake**

"No way, we can't fight like this, we need to get away!" T.K. looked between the enemies and the nearby shore; it wasn't that far to swim to, but still…

A ring of ghostly blue flames burnt and surrounded their position, great, now it is going to be even harder.

"You need to digivolve!" Sora cried out to the digimons, in their current situation, they will be killed in less than a minute!

"We…we can't… we can't digivolve!"

_That headache inducing song… that must be why, _T.K. stared alarmingly at that one creature, floating in midair as it emitted wave after wave of sonic energy. "We need to make a run for it! We need to go, quickly!"

"Go! Now! I will cover your backs!" Stingmon flew in between the children and the three enemies, they hesitated, this was no easy task, "Quickly! Go!"

T.K. took a deep breath and dived in first, the others quickly followed.

Bad choice.

The surface of the water exploded into a blaze of dancing flames, it would be impossible to get back out again.

At least they didn't get burnt to death; that was all too close.

"Diamond Storm!"

_What was that?_ T.K. and Patamon turned around to look, but they couldn't wait, every second of air was precious right now.

Hundreds of shapes can be made out in the water, their elongated, whip like bodies waved around in the current like some kind of demonic seaweed, the claws on ends of the tentacles hungrily snapped open and shut, ready to rip apart anything unfortunate enough to be caught by their grasp.

Renamon ran on top of the water as if it was solid ground, she focused and quickly dodged every burst of flame or ambushing claw that got into her way. Distraction is all she needs, even if just a little.

The distance between her and the three of them closed, two robed beings flew in front of the third, who was still singing its ghastly melody.

"NOW!" Renamon yelled out as Mikemon appeared behind her, "Power Paw!" her fists and paws engulfed in flames, Renamon jumped up and waved her limps around at the enemies to open up any ground. Mikemon swung from Renamon's shoulder on her arm, "I'm ready!"

"Tear a hole in them!" Renamon grabbed Mikemon by her ankle and threw her head first at the last robed enemy like a cannon ball.

"NEKO CLAW!"

Mikemon flew towards the floating creature with what seemed like the speed of sound. She dashed past the enemy like a stream of razor sharp wind before landing in the water with a soft splash, disappearing into the currents.

Sora, Ken and T.K. watched helplessly as Stingmon worked as fast as he could, destroying any claw getting close at them. Just as everyone was beginning to run out of breath, the flames on the water quenched. Everyone floated back up to the surface and gasped for breath, the song stopped!

One of the three robed creature fell from the sky at which it was levitating, three huge gashes tore apart the left side of its chest, but it was not dead yet.

"Quickly! Digivolve now!" Sora and T.K. did not even hesitate when they whipped out their digi-vices and shouted.

_Patamon digivolve to…_

_Biyomon digivolve to…_

_Angemon!_

_Birdramon!_

"It's Mikemon!" Angemon looked excitedly towards the direction of their unexpected reinforcements, "She said she would bring help!"

"Should we retreat first or should we counter attack?" Ken asked decisively.

"We can't just leave them two there!" T.K. and Angemon gave the others a quick nod before flying off, T.K. held onto Angemon's back and grasped his shoulder tightly before fixing his eyes on the three enemies as they quickly reassembled.

"Angemon, attack them! Let's see how they fight!"

"They've played us long enough, let's make them pay!" Birdramon and Stingmon immediately followed behind them, their partners both riding on their backs and watched as their distance closed bit by bit. Time to attack…

"Wing Meteor!"

"Heaven's Fist!"

The three enemies ignored Renamon and Mikemon before quickly reassembling before the on-coming attack. The three of them floated one above another in a triangular formation before quickly forming an energy shield to deflect the attack, the fire ball and streak of light harmlessly bounced against their force field before disappearing into nothing.

"What should we do?" T.K. turned to his friends, this attack was not going to work, and getting into melee range doesn't seem to be a good idea either…

"Watch out!" Angemon quickly shouted out before manoeuvring left and right in the air to avoid being caught by the countless claws extended at them, the sudden and violent thrashing so nearly threw T.K. off to certain death.

With a wave of the one of the creature's black sleeve, droplets of a mysterious blue liquid flew their way before combusting into large clusters of flames midair; these deadly obstacles were enough to cause the three to change their flying cause.

"Urgh! Damn it! We can't get anywhere near them!" Ken shouted in between desperate struggles of holding onto Stingmon's back, "I can't keep this up for much longer! We need a plan!"

"What… What? What's this?" The triangle formed in between the three creatures let out a prismatic flash, the pattern spun around faster and faster as it glowed ominously…

"They are charging for an attack! Get away!" Sora held onto Birdramon tighter before all of them flew away as fast as they could; the light was getting so bright she had to cover her eyes to avoid being temporarily blinded…

Until a rain of razor sharp crystal shards hailed down upon the creatures and totally interrupted their attack…

The creatures turned and stared at Renamon behind their hoods with unspoken menace, that interruption had irritated them!

"Angel Rod!"

"Fire Storm!"

"Spiking Strike!"

Stingmon, Angemon and Birdramon immediately took this opportunity to attack; they charged into the enemies fiercely and tore apart their ranks, effectively separating the three from each other.

"Great timing, guys!" T.K. yelled excitedly as he saw new hopes of winning this battle, "Keep this up! Don't let them reassemble!"

"Take them down! One at a time! Focus on the singing one!" Ken led Stingmon and the others to ready an assault for their first target.

The frenzy of battle took over all their senses; explosions and flashes of projectiles flew across the sky in a myriad of bright colours. Bullets and fireballs alike charged into the opponents, the results were either blocked or dodged. The digimons pushed their abilities to the limit, but their best, was not good enough…

The battle did not go well. Not for a second could they stay still without the risk of being burnt by the pyromancer and those constantly hunting claws always manage to force them to change their planned route. While hunting for the one that could not physically fight may have seemed easy, its agility and cunning skills of air manoeuvring made it almost impossible to hit.

Without Renamon's constant distraction of the enemies, perhaps the digi-destined wouldn't have even survived that long…

What was less than half an hour felt more like half a day.

"This… doesn't work…" Angemon said while panting heavily, the fatigue was becoming increasingly crushing, but he mustn't stop flying, "The difference between levels of power is just too great… it feels like fighting five Megas…"

The three enemies stopped attacking, they stopped in midair and looked at the digi-destined as if gloating about their victory, their combined attacks had pinned the children down with the ease of a game. The three of them regrouped and stood still, but they weren't doing nothing.

As sound waves of the sinister chorus once again echoed above the lake, the pyromancer lifted both his arms and released a flurry of tiny blue sparkles that began filling the surrounding air. Everyone recognised those, they were getting ready to combust! This battle could not possibly last much longer!

"Beep… beep…" T.K. looked down at his digi-vice, someone was coming.

_Cody and Yolei!_ He grinned happily and looked at the other two, they have obviously both got the message too.

_Buy them time!_ With a nod, the assaults began anew.

"Moon Shooter!"

"Talon Tear!"

Stingmon and Birdramon ferociously dived down onto the enemies with talons and claws and the ready, they missed, but that was only as expected.

"Do you now see the futility of your struggle?" They spoke, in the middle of battle, as if they didn't even care, "As you are now, you cannot hope to defeat us. Us, the very vessel and meaning of power, we will only ever grow-"

"Enough with your nonsense all ready! We have seen worse! We have seen far worse than you!" _Anything… anything to buy them time!_ T.K. quickly searched through his head for anything he could say, "We will defeat you, we can do it!"

"Why do you think that?" Was the blunt reply.

"Huh? Why do I think that? Because… because we… we are more powerful than you!" T.K. tried to sound as confident as he could, "Just you wait and see, we will beat you! Like we did every time before with others of your kind!"

"And how do you think-"

SPLASH!

"Megaton Press!"

Ankylomon leaped out of the water and several meters into the air with a mighty fountain like burst, he rolled into a ball and crushed down onto the three creatures like an unstoppable boulder.

Countless black portals opened up behind one of the three creatures and out of them, burst forth a wave of strangling claws. They hurled through the air towards Ankylomon and struck about the living boulder.

Ankylomon's moment pushed him forth against many claws, but he could not withstand the unstopping barrage. These attacks that stopped his charge and knocked him into the water below, would otherwise have torn him to just as many pieces.

"Ankylomon!" Cody yelled worriedly from above atop Aquillamon, Ankylomon had sank into the lake and completely disappeared.

"Hang on, Cody. We are almost done!" Yolei almost had to hold onto him to prevent Cody jumping off after Ankylomon.

"Blast Rings!"

"Diamond Storm!"

While the one being was immobilised by the use of its portals, the other two were forced to separate to avoid damage from Renamon and Aquillamon's joint surprise attack. The sparks in the air slowly dissipated as they were cut from their power source, buying everyone precious time.

The dog fight was above to come to an end, everyone flew and encircled the three robed beings, the prelude to a almost suicidal final assault.

The battle had dragged on for too long, the three robed beings now focused on pure offensives. From around one of the beings, more black portals opened and aimlessly shot claws in all direction, a wriggling mass of black tentacles writing in midair, swinging to catch anything flying close. The digimons were forced to fly further away, but they carried on encircling the three enemies.

The pyromancer waved both of its arms to direct rings of spinning fire towards the flying digimons. The rings flew into the path of their flight and exploded into a burning static sphere. The water below sizzled and boiled as jets of steam shot up into the sky, threatening to knock any of the children off the back of their digimon. The sphere was not dissipating, instead, it was growing in size!Tthis had at last broken their path of flight.

_Gurgh…_ Yolei cringed as the deathly melody finally reached their ears, this was it… it won't be long before they finally tire out.

"Megaton Press!"

Ankylomon attempted the same attack again, this time from directly below the three robed beings. He did not try to get jump any higher, rather, the lift off _was_ his attack.

The three beings immediately stopped attacking and gathered in formation, creating a violet force field that faced Ankylomon head on.

Ankylomon yelled in pain as the contact electrocuted him all over, his attack alone could not hope to penetrate their defence, and was helplessly thrown back into the water once again.

"Aim for the crack in their shield!" Renamon shouted out her order from below on the lake surface, she hurled a curtain of deadly shrapnel towards where Ankylomon had struck against the three being's force field, forcing open a gap bit by bit.

They didn't have a choice now! They mustn't waste this opportunity Ankylomon had created for them! "Guys! Press on the attack NOW!" Yolei cried aloud on Aquillamon's back, this was the last chance! It is now or never!

The four digimons ceased their encircling and at once, dived straight towards their target at the centre from four different directions.

"Hand of Fate!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Grand Horn!"

The four digimons charged the enemies at once, their frustration and anger all accumulated into this one fatal barrage of chained attacks. This had to destroy them! Nothing could survive their combined wrath! Without sparing a second to think, their attacks rammed into the weak point of their energy shield, completely decimating both their weakened defences and the trapped beings inside.

As if a last ditch effort of a counterattack, the three bodies of the robed creatures exploded into a massive out-burst of smoke and dust; the shock waves blew every person that stood next to the bodies helplessly through the air before landing in the water with a loud splash.

It hurt… but it wasn't lethal.

After a long, prevailing silence…

"Ow…" Was the first sound everyone heard, it was Yolei floating across the surface of the water with Hawkmon, who was apparently out cold.

"Phew… we… we survived…" At least a bit of pain is better than death; T.K. held Patamon in one arm and looked around for everybody else. "Cody? Ken? Sora? Yolei? Are you alright?"

"We are… fine, slightly dazed, that's all."

_Good, huh?_ T.K. heard someone walking towards them, he turned and saw the yellow fox that helped them during this fight, a soaked Mikemon was sitting on top of her shoulder, the sight seemed to immediately cheer up Patamon.

"Let me help you." Renamon extended a hand to T.K. and Ken, who took the hand and relaxed as Renamon pulled the two of them along with their digimon to the shore, "I will come back for the others later."

With the creatures gone, the very atmosphere seemed to feel more relaxed.

But what about the others? What had happened to them…?

* * *

Okay, as I said, I cannot apologise enough for this delay, I seemed to have met a writer's block while writing this out too. Bad combination…

Anyway, now I have finally done this, I can now resume writing at a faster pace. I hope you like it so far, I think a bit of a slower paced chapter may be coming this way.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	29. Chapter 29 Temporary Peace

Hello again!

More character and story line development in this chapter, I'm back in business after that blockage (both from the outside world and story-wise), haha.

Read on!

* * *

**Chapter 29: Temporary Peace**

The all-consuming darkness that had surrounded Veemon for what felt like days finally dissolved away, the sudden light of the outside world blinded him for a second as he looked around for any sign of danger.

The voice rang through his head:

_It was a trap! How could I have not seen through it? I'm sorry…_

_No, it's not your fault, but we have to find the others, I'm rather worried about them._

_Don't worry, they are right around us, take a look around when you are ready._

As Veemon's sight began to re-adjust, he looked around and found out that they were in a small clearing inside the woodland area on the shore of the lake. Strange, it seems like that all those things they had just experienced were only an illusion, and while they were unconscious inside the house, they were transported over here.

Why though?

Veemon walked in-between all the unconscious children on the ground along with their partners; they seemed to be alright, regular breathing and all that. Just totally knocked out, that's all.

_Tai and Agumon, Izzy and Tentomon, Matt and Gabumon, Kari and… Gatomon… Joe and Gomamon, Mimi and Palmon… Wait, where is Ken, Sora, Yolei, Cody and T.K.?_

_They must have been taken separately, I think I know why._

_Why?_

_If I'm right, the last three robed beings would be that of Despair, Cruelty and Hatred. And they would also want to kill T.K., Sora and Ken respectively. It is… some sort of ritual for them, I guess. The fact that Yolei and Cody are also missing would also mean they were left awake on purpose._

_What?! Then we need to go and help them!_

_Don't worry, the fact that you have woken up means that the three have already been defeated._

_Then I don't understand, why didn't they kill me? They had me right here!_

_They obviously have plans for you elsewhere; I think they were going to transport you and the other children to wherever they wanted after they killed the ones who were awake. But I guess it didn't work out for them._

_Really, huh. You sure did memorise their names fast._

_Thank you. The others have not woken up yet; those creatures must have done something to them…_

Veemon quickly became alert as he heard leaves rustling, he raised his fists and looked in the direction of the noise, "Who is it?!"

"You flaming idiots! How could you be stupid enough to come looking for me?! Do you not think I would have gone to find you if I thought it necessary?!"

Veemon relaxed as he heard the old man's bitter voice, despite the situation, he couldn't help but chuckle a little. They were safe, for now…

**Not far away:**

"So how did you guys come here?" A soaking wet T.K. trudged along the ground and asked Renamon, who he had just remembered was the doctor from the hospital.

"Mikemon thought you might need my help, I knew this was something important, that's why I came, pretty good timing too." Renamon quickly replied, she didn't seem too pleased to be away from the hospital, but it also didn't seem to overly bother her. "She even wanted me to bring some of the staff from the hospital, which was very inconsiderate of her."

"Thank you very much for your help, I don't think we would have won without you." Sora said politely, "You are one heck of a fighter though, far stronger than any other Rookie level digimon I know of."

"Hey." Biyomon protested sarcastically.

"I was once… Ah, never mind." Renamon pointed in a direction and said, "That quirky old man told me to bring you guys here, I will be going now."

"Huh? You sure?" T.K. looked at Patamon, who was lovingly walking alongside Mikemon; it would be pretty hard for the two of them to separate now.

"Come on! Mikemon! We got business to attend to in the hospital!" Renamon ignored that and hurried Mikemon with a harsh, stern voice.

"Sorry, I'm coming…" Mikemon hugged Patamon goodbye one more time before reluctantly turning away to follow Renamon.

"Come on, Patamon." T.K. smiled at Patamon who still cannot take his eyes off her even as she slowly disappeared from view, "Let's go, we will get a cold if we stay for much longer."

And much to their relief, Gennai appeared immediately after that.

**Evening Camp:**

"Evening already?" Veemon looked up at the sun through the gaps in the trees; half of that bright, burning globe was already underneath the mountains in the far away distance, how long must their illusions have lasted?

Everybody was awake now, T.K., Ken, Sora, Yolei and Cody were the ones sitting closest to the camp fire to dry off their cloth, everybody else was still in a daze.

Gennai could take it no more, "What is the meaning of all this?!" The old man stood up and shouted furiously, he stared and pointed at Veemon, "I told you not to be so rash! And now what?! Not only have you risked more than you should, you even set their plan into action!"

Everybody seemed to wake up a little and looked at the two of them in confusion, their eyes clearly demanding an explanation to all this.

They all jumped as they saw it: the half transparent image of an ExVeemon hovering above Veemon's body.

"I couldn't have waited… forgive me, but this had worked out better than you had feared, I did say I wouldn't wait for long, and the circumstances demanded it." The almost holographic image of the ExVeemon replied in a sarcastically calm tone.

"Yes! I have heard it all before, 'circumstances demanded it'… it might have worked out but that was still a risk, what if Veemon _wasn't_ as good-willed as you thought? What if he couldn't resist the temptation?"

"Why don't you trust me?" Veemon frowned and asked in a half-offended tone.

"Indeed, why don't you? You have seen everything he had done since he was released, and so have I. Besides, weren't it you who asked me to 'just tell him the truth'?"

"I told you to reveal the fact that you two were related, not… _everything else_!" He paused for a second as if trying to catch his breath; the sight was slightly amusing to everyone else.

They turned around to look at the others, whose faces are frozen in an expression of confusion.

In a much quieter voice, so that the others cannot hear, ExVeemon said: "Should we tell them?"

"No." Veemon spoke before Gennai, "I… I don't want them to know…"

"That is understandable. But your friends have all decided to risk their lives to follow us; do you think it is really wise for us to hide it any longer?"

"Follow you? What?!" Gennai certainly did not bother keeping his voice down, "You brought all of them here so you can all go and walk right into their trap? To _help_ them complete whatever they are planning?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Stop that!" Veemon made an equally strong come back, "I know those things are waiting for me, okay?! But I don't care! All I want right now is to find Davis! I never ever thought about endangering the life of my friends, but I have to find Davis!"

"Don't be foolish! Do you know how much catastrophe you could cause because of your irresponsibility?! We can't act rash! We need a _proper_ plan!"

Veemon shook with anger and bit down on his teeth, "Are you telling me to abandon my best friend?!"

"I… I am not; I am merely saying that you should also consider the safety of all the others as well."

_I told you! I told you this was a bad idea!_ Veemon seethed with rage and stared at the floor, he had enough of this; he had enough of Gennai's indescribably annoying way of sorting things out.

_I'm sorry; I didn't think his reaction would be quite as fierce as this. So… what do you want to do?_

_I… I DON'T KNOW!_ Veemon held his face in his hands and shook his head, h_ow could he possibly expected me to just leave Davis?! …But… he has got a good point…_

"You are not going anywhere, I will not allow it!" Gennai was absolutely adamant about this.

"Okay, that's enough!" Tai was _also_ sick of this, "What the heck is going on! We need to know it, we must know it! If this whole business is really so dangerous, don't you think it is responsible of you to warn us?"

ExVeemon looked at Tai before turning to speak to Gennai, "He is right. You have been hiding for too long; it's time for them to know. Weren't it you who have always helped them in the past few years? You hid yourself for the sake of safety, but now that time has passed." He paused for a brief second and looked at Gennai thoughtfully, "You and I both knew that this was inevitable, why delay it any further?"

Gennai lowered his head and sighed sadly, "I… I just… don't know. I just don't know enough! All those other times, I knew what you had to do and why so. But now I don't even know what their plan is. For as far as we know, the moment we walk into their territory they could have some inescapable death trap waiting for us. I just… don't like the risk."

"Think about it, Gennai, what has to happen, _will_ happen. It will happen whether we wait or we act, and waiting is not going to give us any more help than what we are getting. Please, Gennai…" ExVeemon closed his eyes and gave one more remark, "The only things I have ever treasured in my life, I failed to protect any of them… please, don't let Veemon and the others fail too."

Half a minute of silence was lost in everyone's thoughts before Gennai finally made his decision, "Very well, I don't really know what else to do… perhaps this is for the best, I am just hoping that I'm not damning us all."

_I… there is no way I can stay here and listen,_ Veemon watched as Gennai sat down and started to speak to everybody, he turned and walked away from the camp fire without looking at the stares everyone is giving him, he couldn't bear to look at the others or let the others look at him, not after this.

_Veemon, it is my fault, not yours, that you are like this. You should not have anything to fear about._

When Veemon thought he was far away enough from the group, he looked around and sat down with his back against the cold wet bark of a tree, _Fear about? I fear myself! For as far as any of us know, I could just go berserk any moment now and slaughter everybody! They will all be frightened of me; they will never look at me the same way again…_

_... I am sorry… that, there aren't more I can do._

_I… _Veemon felt tears swell in his eyes before he could control himself; he covered his face with both hands and quietly cried, _I just want everything to go back to normal…_ he thought in-between teary sobs, _I just wish everything could go back to where it was… now, that would never happen… not ever again…_

Veemon could feel ExVeemon silently watching him with sympathetic and guilt-ridden eyes, he laid an incorporeal hand on Veemon's head, as if trying to caress Veemon for his pains.

_Everything has gone wrong, because of my stupidity I lost Gatomon, and now I lost Davis too…_

_Veemon, it is not your fault, this will work out, somehow._

_It won't, I have lost everyone, because of what I am…_ Veemon put his hands down and looked at the almost dark sky with teary, gloomy eyes, _do you think… Davis will despise of me too? What if he is truly terrified of me, even when I find him?_

_ No, he already knew the truth from Gennai. Trust your friend, Veemon, he knew the truth but he still cares about you, I am sure he is thinking of you even now._

_… You know what I have to do once this is over, don't you?_

_Veemon…_

_If we survive this, then I will have to disappear forever, or delete myself._

_Veemon, please… there are better things than that to think about._

_But of course, I will make them pay; I will make them pay ten-fold for what they have done… If oblivion is where I have to go to, then I will take them with me…_

Veemon stared at the moss-covered ground with half-open eyes and listened to Gennai talk in the not too far back distance. Gatomon was standing in between a few branches above, silently watching and listening to Veemon's sorrowful activities. Perhaps her curiosity drove her to do so, or perhaps she still felt sorry for the poor little dragon that had lost all his characteristic cheer in the last month. But the sight of him silently weeping, all alone from everybody else, was certainly a sad sight.

Perhaps… it was about time she talked to him again…

* * *

There, a whole chapter of character development, it was about time for the two of them to make up anyway…

But it ain't going to be easy…

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	30. Chapter 30 Heart's Difference

Hello!

Finally! Holiday has arrived! I am sorry, yet again, for such a delay. I can't believe I took so long to do another chapter, but thank you for waiting!

Here goes.

* * *

**Chapter 30: Heart's Difference**

Davis shook his head slowly and opened his eyes from the uncomfortable sleep, his head still burnt with pain where the sword had smacked him. But above that, was the overwhelming feeling of hunger.

He hasn't eaten for two days now, the starving sensation even overcame the incredible boredom and the discomfort of being tied up.

Footsteps were coming this way; Davis checked his pocket to conceal the digi-vice and stared at the robed being walking towards him. It stopped in-front of him to drop a chunk of something on the floor before walking away.

On a closer look, it was the burnt remains of some kind of animal, Davis might have called it "roasted" but "scorched and charred" is a better description. Why did that thing just give him this?

_Of course! It needs me alive!_ So it seems, but how was _this_ suppose to help? "Hey, you! How am I supposed to eat with my hands tied up?"

The robed being turned around for a brief second before making the bands around Davis wrists disappear, he fell from the air as the pressure disappeared and rubbed his sore wrists, wincing at the red marks around it. It then casually walked away.

_Ha! Stupid monsters! Can't believe such a simple trick fooled them!_ Davis jumped up and tried to run away before banging head first into an invisible wall, _Ow… damn, they are not as dumb as I thought…_

Davis sat down and took a look around him, it seems that now he was inside a prison made from energy walls or something like that, _well, at least now I can lie down properly._

This was annoying! He had never been imprisoned like this before and it was so humiliating! Davis looked at that burnt remains of… whatever critter it was in its life, the slimy, bloody carcass suddenly pushed all sense of hunger out of his stomach. Well, he ain't going to be eating that anytime soon…

Davis let his cramped body down and relaxed his back a little, which was a relieving sensation to say the least. He took out the digi-vice again and stared at it, how he wish that this little thing would somehow get him out of this prison…

She was still there… that unmistakable aura of fear that Davis felt every time he looked around, the Angewomon has not moved, at all.

Davis quickly looked away and at the digi-vice again. He sighed and realised that it would seem like that the only thing he could do now was to do what Gennai told him to. If Gennai said it is important, then it must be, if anything, this was the only thing to do to pass by the incredible boredom.

_Veemon… I so want to see you again…_

**Night Camp:**

_Still can't sleep?_

Veemon fidgeted on his make-shift bed of leaves and sat up, _no…_

_You really will need it._

_I know, but I just can't sleep… I want to do something else…_

_I understand, why don't you find a tall tree and watch the sky from there. That always helps if you need to rest._

_That sounds good. Gives me a good opportunity to be alone too._

Veemon quietly snuck away from the campfire and walked deeper into the woods. It wasn't long before he found an easy-to-climb tree and settled down on top of one of its highest branches, actually, this was surprisingly relaxing. If not for all these troubles bothering him, Veemon could easily just forget everything and stay here to gaze upon the heavens. The dark blue night sky riddled with countless stars as they shined their celestial brilliance, like diamonds dancing on a piece of velvet blue silk. Veemon smiled at being able to see something so beautiful during a time like this, the cloudless night sky was just so perfect for…

Someone else to sit here next to him…

Veemon silently made the wish that he could correct the mistake he made, even though it would hardly make any difference now. But only if he could have stopped himself from being so rash, so that he did not have to hurt the person he loved so much. Even that would be enough…

Veemon was beginning to lose himself in thoughts until the sound of rustling leaves snapped him back to consciousness. Suddenly alert, Veemon looked around, only to see the one thing he would have never expected: Gatomon sitting on another branch a few metres away from him, totally silent as she idly stared at the moon.

Veemon nearly reached out a hand to say something, oh how he wanted to talk to her again! This was such a good opportunity for him to apologize and perhaps fix everything; it was as if his wish had come true!

But…

_No,_ he thought, _why should she listen to me? After what I have said…_ Veemon broken-heartedly looked away and quietly sighed; he bitterly told himself that someone… no, some_thing_ like him doesn't deserve to be loved. He could feel ExVeemon giving him a forceful mental nudge, but that was his decision, he doesn't even trust himself, so why should anyone else trust him?

Veemon turned around and prepared to climb down the tree, he lowered himself from the branch and was ready to let go. Before he was yet again surprised by Gatomon's voice.

"I should be the one getting away from _you_ in disgust, you know?" Gatomon said without looking at him, "Not the other way round."

Veemon didn't know what to say, hearing Gatomon's voice speaking to him again made him happy regardless of what she was saying, but there was nothing he could reply with.

"Seems like a lot has been going on in these past few days, care to give me a detailed explanation?"

"Didn't Gennai tell you?"

"I wasn't listening; besides, I trust a first person account to be more reliable and accurate."

Veemon hesitated a little; she obviously doesn't know how horrendous the truth is, and she also would not understand how impossible it would be for Veemon to tell the story himself. But how could he possibly say anything to refuse…?

Veemon reluctantly lifted himself back onto the branch and said: "Look… about what happened at the hospital, I…"

Gatomon lifted up a paw and silenced him, "I know what happened at the hospital, and I know every last detail of that misunderstanding. So I don't want to be reminded of it."

Veemon stared at her for a brief moment; a small but hopeful smile crept onto his face. Veemon looked down and hesitantly asked, "So… so… okay, I know this is an absolutely pathetic question, but… will you forget about what happened that day? Maybe not forget, but, at least so that we could talk to each other again… like friends?"

"You are right; it is a pretty pathetic question." Gatomon also turned around to look at Veemon and continued, "I might consider it, if you give me my answer first."

Veemon froze for a second, he was lost for words. "But… you don't want to know the truth, you don't want to know it, I can assure you, you do not want to hear about it."

"But I clearly do. Look, I know it is bad; it has got to be pretty horrific to be able to get you down like this, but if you want me to be your friend, you must not hide any important secrets now, can you?"

"… I'm sorry…" Veemon closed his eyes and hopelessly shook his head, "I'm sorry, but you don't understand… if I tell you, you won't ever want to see me again… I can't tell you, I can't tell anyone…"

Gatomon was silent for a moment, _what could possibly be so bad to break Veemon down like this?_ She too was lost for further words.

In the end, being honest was the only thing Gatomon thought of, "Don't you trust me? Do you really think that you can ever be scary enough that I will run away from you on sight? We are friends! We are all friends, whatever happens to one of us, we will never abandon them! I will know the truth sooner or later, why don't you tell me yourself?"

"But I have hurt you so badly; telling you what I am will only make you hate me more…"

Gatomon lowered her head and spoke in a softer tone, "I will never detest you, I won't ever be able to truly hate one of my friends, not ever, whoever they are or what they may have done. Why won't you trust me?"

Veemon was silent, in his head, a battle of thoughts and decisions nearly brought him to tears until he once again felt the mental probe.

_Veemon, let me do it._

_…_

_Trust me, it will be fine._

_I don't want to hurt anybody; I don't want to be disliked by everyone…_

_Why won't you stop thinking that?! Did you not hear what she just said, a friendship like yours is rare, but once found, there is nothing to break it._

_Just finish it…_

Without letting him appear, Veemon closed his eyes and allowed ExVeemon to take control of his speech. He felt uncomfortable as word flowed from his mouth without his control, but this was somewhat… easier.

Without Veemon even realising it, the story was told. The story of what Veemon once was and for what hellish reasons was it done to him. How the nine created him and just exactly what for. He told of the atrocities he committed during his life and of the endless massacres. He told her how armies of digimon fell before him and what he had become. An hours passed by as the moon moved across the sky, the words the only sounds to be heard, with Gatomon paying all attention as Veemon described how it all came to an end and how he was given another chance to live, and how that chance has yet again been wasted.

Silence fell, and Veemon did not open his eyes, he feared that Gatomon would not be there when he looked, he was too afraid to be disappointed…

But he opened his eyes regardless…

She was gone… Veemon sighed sadly, why should he be surprised?

But he was surprised, when a pair of furry, white arms wrapped themselves around Veemon's shoulders and hugged him tight from behind. He blushed softly and did not move, but only cherished the warmth from the contact. This was… definitely not the reaction he expected…

"So this is why you have been so quirky since you came back. This is why you refused to talk to everybody."" Gatomon smiled, she spoke soft and tenderly, "You are such an idiot, you know that? You really are… how could you have thought that we would hate you for something that aren't even your fault?"

Tears welled up in his eyes and fell onto his cheeks before Veemon realised it, those words… nobody will ever understand how much they meant to him.

"Come back with me, and trust us, nobody will ever abandon you, none of us will ever hate you. After all, helping each other is what friends are for, right?"

Veemon stared at Gatomon through those teary eyes; he wasn't even quite sure what to say. He didn't like crying like this, it was so unlike him, but those tears of joy were just impossible to hold back.

Gatomon stood up and held him by the hand, "Come on, let's go back, it is going to be a long day tomorrow, better get some rest."

"Wait… wait, does… does that mean you… forgive me?" Veemon asked with a trembling and slightly embarrassed voice.

"Huh?" Gatomon let out a cute little chuckle and said, "… maybe…"

* * *

There, yet another whole chapter on characters only, but I enjoyed finally letting the two of them make up again, after… let's see… 17 chapters…

Oh well, I will try and update faster now, thank you for your patience ^^

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	31. Chapter 31 End of Journeys

Hello!

Finale is drawing near! This is going to get harder and harder to write… I will try and make it as epic as I can.

Read on.

* * *

**Chapter 31: End of Journeys**

_Veemon…_

_Hmm…_ Veemon lazily rolled onto his side as he refused to wake up from the comfortable slumber.

_Veemon, look, I'm sorry to disturb you, but everyone is waiting._

_Huh?_ Veemon reluctantly opened his dreamy eyes and saw the whole group sitting down on the ground watching him, "Ahh!" he yelled and jumped up in embarrassment, "Sorry! I over-slept! You should have woken me up!"

Everyone smiled and Yolei said: "We figured that you haven't slept properly for days, so it may be better to leave you to sleep for a while."

Veemon scratched his head and blushed as the others gave him food for breakfast, which he quickly munched down hungrily. Everything has actually turned out to be _far_ better than what Veemon had expected; he didn't even feel moody anymore. Veemon was so happy that nobody has asked him anything about his past or the ExVeemon they saw. Maybe the warm faces of friends are just what he needed; even Gennai seemed to have cheered up a little.

_It's a shame that… we'll have to depart so soon…_

"So…" Veemon mumbled in-between mouthfuls of delicious sushi rolls, "Where are we going to go?"

"Okay, pay attention to this." As if anybody wasn't, "You should have expected this by now, but the place where they gather are not physically tied to this land. We need to go to the place where their ties to this world are the strongest and make it across." Gennai paused for a second and looked around at everybody, "But the fact is, once we go there, we cannot come back, the door will not open again unless those creatures allow it, well, if they are dead."

A few seconds of uncomfortable silence followed.

"Well, make your choice; once we go there, there is no return."

"I still want to know what their role is, exactly." Joe asked inquisitively, "To create a pocket plane like that, they must be trying to hide something. But what else demands them to be so secretive."

"That, not even I can be sure of." Gennai shook his head and sighed, "Which is why I am so worried, this is a trap, it so obviously is, but the only thing we can do is to walk right into it."

"So what?!" As hot-headed as he ever was, Tai jumped up and let out the motivations, "If our only choice is to walk into their trap, then our only other choice is to win! We must win! It is the only option!"

"Tai is right!" Matt was quick to follow, "We shouldn't be waiting around here being scared like this; after all, our friend is in danger."

"Don't be so rash!" But Gennai was not finished with his scolding, "If you want to make it out of there alive, then you need a plan."

"Would you please stop saying that?" Mimi quickly grew impatient, "If you want to, then at least try and think of a plan with us, don't just beat out the morale like that."

"How could an effective plan be generated if the motives of the opponent remain unclear?" Izzy was drawing a flow chart on his lap-top detailing as many possible motives of the enemy as he could think of, "For example, what is their strategy and what is our tactic? We know their ultimate goals include Veemon, but what exactly-"

"OK, okay, whatever." Tai continued on, "If we don't know what their plan is, then we better get in there and find out!"

"Tai, that is hardly a plan." Agumon added in.

"Shh!"

"Anyway, since we do not know what they want to do." Gennai looked at Veemon and said, "It may be better for you to stay out of this."

"What?!" Veemon looked back at Gennai with a shocked expression, "You have got to be kidding me! After all this you want me to stay out of this?! No way!"

Gennai was about to interrupt him before Veemon quickly continued.

"Look, how about this. We go in there, find Davis, rescue him, and beat the life out of whatever is inside as quickly as possible, by then there would surely be a way back." Surprisingly, Veemon was actually the first one to give out a proper plan, "Since many of those things got killed quite recently, they will either not be resurrected yet, or still quite weak. So, what do you say?"

"Yeah… I think we'll go by that." Everyone slowly murmured one by one.

"Look, you really have to take this a bit more seriously." Gennai face-palmed and helplessly protested, "I just feel like that you are totally under-estimating the opponents."

"We don't need to estimate them." T.K.'s turn, "We have done this before, twice! Let's round this up with a third time. For Davis and uh… the digital world, I guess. But hey! We can do this! After all, we are destined to do so!"

"Fine, fine! But remember! You always have to be as careful as you can!" Everybody rolled their eyes at Gennai again, "When you are ready, just follow me."

_Finally…_ thought Veemon as everyone got ready to go, _we can finally go there and actually do something._

_I… feel that, everyone is being slightly over optimistic._

_Don't say that, being optimistic in a hard battle is better than simply running away from the intimidating odds._

_I guess…_

_You know… if only Davis was here, I would really love to spend some more time with everyone…_

_I told you they would not hate you._

_Yes… thank you._

_Don't worry, you will have time._

**En Route:**

"So, how did it turn out?" As everyone walked down paths that Veemon found awfully nostalgic, Kari quietly asked Gatomon.

"Huh? Oh, that." Gatomon smiled mischievously and replied, "I'm going any further yet, besides, I did tell him we are only friends right now."

"Oh, you." Kari smiled back and said, "You know that 'something' I mentioned earlier, you know, what you needed to talk to Veemon. Do you still want it?"

"Oh, I almost forgot about that." The memories of what was only a few weeks ago, but somehow seemed so distant, Gatomon was curious, but she held that back, "Not yet, but I might need it once this is over."

"That's okay, just glad to see that you have finally forgiven him."

"Hey, I haven't said that, I'm not _that_ easy to win back, you know."

Everybody paused in their steps as Gennai stopped walking.

_Wait, this! This is the battle field!_ Veemon stared at the familiar expanse of endless green, the place that bore so much significance to him.

"Why are we stopping? " It's only been an hour; stopping now seemed to have surprised Cody.

"This is it; this is where we enter their realm." Gennai turned and stared sternly at everyone.

"What? Already?!" Sora replied in disbelief, "You mean, they have been so close to us? All this time?"

"I'm glad that you are beginning to appreciate my concerns. I was worried for a reason you know." Gennai looked around at everybody one more time and said, "As I said before, once we go in, we don't come out until it's over. I have absolutely no idea what's in there, but it was your choice to do this, and you _must_ succeed."

"Then, wait, I don't understand." Veemon interrupted, "Why didn't they just kidnap me in here while they could have? Like, when they kidnapped Davis?"

"If they fought you, you might go berserk again, and now with that unlocked power you might even be able to beat those things. They cannot risk that." Gennai replied thoughtfully, "Which means, they need you to walk straight in there, and they obviously have something planned. And now we are going to walk right into it."

Everyone took a deep breath and swallowed, it appears that only now have the reality truly sank it, only now, after the shock of such a short journey, that the pressure and responsibility of this battle struck into the mind of digi-destined.

If Gennai truly did not know what was beyond there, then… it could be anything unimaginable. It could even be worse than what they faced before, however unlikely that may be.

What if they failed? What would happen then?

But hey, why wonder about that? It only serves to frighten you.

"Alright, let's go in there and kick some butt! " Tai balled his hand into a fist and held it out to everyone, "They've played with all of us, time for our good old pay back!"

"Heh, you sure got that right." Matt and Gabumon walked and to Tai as Matt held out a fist to meet Tai's, the fiery camaraderie shining in their eyes.

"I don't want to have to fight again, but." Mimi, Yolei and Sora joint the two with their digimons, on their faces were warm yet determined smiles, "We know this is for the better!"

"It's not like we have a choice. Better get this done as quickly as possible." Izzy closed his laptop and walked to the group followed by Joe, Cody and Ken, whatever the odds, confidence was important, and they all knew that.

"And here we go. Just like before, huh?" Hope, the one thing T.K. will never allow anyone to lose, "Just like before, when we get ready to go into the final battle, saying goodbye to the outside world and bracing ourselves for the onslaught to come."

"Perhaps this is not as dramatic." Kari added with the tone of a young leader, "But the outcome shall still be the same." With her, their circle was at last complete.

A sad expression crept across Veemon's face as he realised that right now, it should be Davis that is standing beside him…

Nevertheless!

"We are ready to go!"

"There is nothing more I want to say, ready yourselves!" Gennai lifted his arms up into the air and released a torrent of data into the sky, the myriad of numbers and letters mingled together into a gigantic beam and smashed into the clouds. Straight as a laser, the sky responded with a sudden gale and threatened to knock everyone over. As they covered their eyes to protect it from the gust, the environment decayed.

Thick, black storm clouds swarmed the sky like a hurricane and blocked out most of the sunshine, with it, all colours were drained away, leaving even the air itself a deathly grey. The chaos quietened down, but when the children opened their eyes. Everything has changed.

The place was dark, from the moon and stars in the sky; it looks like it's at night. Thick columns of storm clouds covered the sky and spun in an unnatural whirl. The grass was gone, leaving behind a plane of scorched and cracked earth. There was not a single sign of life; past carnage seemed to have infested the air itself.

"We are here, huh?" Cody was the first to break the silence, "Hmm… Looks like the perfect place for a villain."

"I don't really know where to go from here, but there shouldn't be any danger around yet." An exhausted looking Gennai stood up and decided to walk around their location, "Nevertheless, watch out for ambushes."

"Why wait for them to come to us?! We have to find them." Ken said energetically, "We are in the same area now, so we should be able to use our digi-vice to track Davis down."

"Let's do that!" Veemon was becoming increasingly agitated; he can't wait to finally go, "Let's go now!"

They let out a breath of relief as several dots, along with a separate one, flashed and were displayed on the map indicator. Without even stopping, everyone ran to the direction of their lost friend, their anxiety visible on their faces…

There is a charge in the air; something big is going to happen soon…

_I'm coming, Davis, we are coming!_ Veemon was as tense as he could be, he ran at the head of the group, not wanting to wait any more to finally find his life-time friend.

Fortunately, the journey was short.

"Davis! DAVIS!" Veemon shouted out loud as he saw the jacket which he had seen for so many times, relief welling up inside him as he saw Davis in one piece.

Davis quickly stood up from the sudden commotion; he ignored every sore and aches in his body but ran and pushed himself against the invisible walls to get closer to everyone. There was a sense of disbelief in his eyes, this just seemed so… miraculous.

"Veemon…?" Words slowly and hesitantly left his mouth, "Guys? Is that you?" He stared at everyone as they looked back at him warmly, could this just be another dream…?

"Davis, we found you!" Veemon laughed joyously and pushed his hand against the wall, now they just needed a way out!

Without any warning, Davis collapsed; his body went limp and fell onto the floor without a sound.

"You have arrived, so let's begin." The monotonous voice quickly followed.

Veemon turned and stared at it with fury in his eyes, he shouted: "What did you do to him?"

The force-fields around Davis disappeared with a flash as he was lifted into the air by his arms in an uncomfortable crucifix position. The ethereal purple energy manifested themselves as bands around Davis's wrist and suspended him in mid-air.

Veemon was enraged; to rescue his partner and save everyone else… he would do anything! "Answer me!"

The being appeared from behind Davis, it tilted its head towards Veemon as it walked and said, "I don't need the rest of you, leave."

"Who are you to tell us what to do?!" Tai shouted back equally furiously, "If you know what is good for you, then you _better_ let us go!"

"How foolish." The being replied bitterly as the five menacing blades levitated behind it, their deadly shine once again thirsted for crimson blood, "It would be a waste to just dispose of you, but…"

The creature stepped forward, only to stop in amusement as the children instinctively backed off, "… missing a limb or two shall be fine too."

* * *

Here it comes! I know I'm taking a long time, but I still am trying to finish this, it's getting close too.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	32. Chapter 32 The Beginning of the End

Oh dear, look at how long since I last updated.

Sorry for this massive delay, exams finally finished, and I went back to China to finally enjoy myself for a month. That's why I haven't written for so long, I thank all of you greatly for still bothering to read this.

Well...

* * *

**Chapter 32: The Beginning of the End**

Everybody stood still, everything hung on a string, waiting for one movement to trigger it all.

The creature slowly pushed forward a gloved hand towards Veemon, a small movement but still caused everyone to jump, "Feel it. Can you feel it? A calling, a resonance perhaps? In your mind, in your very soul?"

A tingle… that suddenly turned into a sting in the back of Veemon's head, driving itself into his mind with a splitting headache, Veemon yelled out and fell onto his knees, desperately covering his ears against the ear-piercing buzz but to no avail.

"Veemon!" Gatomon stepped forward and tried to reach for him as Veemon rolled against floor in agony, but Kari only barely managed to drag her back before a blade flashed before them that would have cleaved her cleanly in two.

That voice, a familiar cold voice…

**You are useless… You are useless… You are useless… You are useless… You are useless…**

_Wha… what?_

_"Veemon!"_ Yet another voice within his head, but Veemon knew who this is, _"Control yourself! Shut your mind, block it out!"_

**Worthless… Worthless… Worthless… Worthless… Worthless… Worthless…**

Gennai held both his hands out and pointed them at the robed creature; it turned its attention away from Veemon and stared at him equally sternly. Gennai gathered two orbs of shining light inside his palms and waved his hands in the air, catching the creature's five blades in his magic and began his attempt to disarm them.

"From what we know, you were once wise, Gennai." The creature strained slightly against the pressure before bursting every single orb of light around it and knocking Gennai off his feet, "But how could you have possibly thought yourself to be able defeat me in my own lair?"

"Oh, yes." Gennai struggled to recover his balance, at once, the children simultaneously ran away in every direction and did not waste a second to digivolve their partners, "We will defeat you, of that, I have no doubt."

Veemon held tight onto his head and struggled not to scream, whatever was inside his head, it's killing him.

**Hahahahahaha! HahahAHAHAHAHA!**

_You… it's… you!_

**Why? Did you think I was going to go that easily?**

_No… no way…_

**Aww, don't look so sad... I'm here to, hehe, _help_ you… hehehe...**

Every word echoed chillingly down Veemon's mind, each sound felt like hot iron searing against his brain. Veemon shouted out loud: "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

_"Veemon! Control yourself!"_ A different voice, a friendlier voice, growing ever so distant…

**Aren't you excited? Well, you certainly should be, hahaha.**

It felt absolutely impossible to move, but Veemon bit down on his lips and steadied his shaking legs.

_You are not going to hurt me and my friends anymore… I won't let you!_

**Silly Veemon, did you think you could stop me? Huh? Do you now?**

_I don't care!_ Veemon limped heavily towards the creature, who watched without a word as he struggled to keep balance.

"Wing Blade!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Hammer Spark!"

"Blast Rings!"

The deadly projectiles flew straight for their target, so fast they looked like nothing but beams of light. The attack strikes home, but the target was no longer there.

"An impressive display of teamwork, however, pinpointing your attacks at a position where I can clearly evade is not that tactical." Muttered the creature ever so calmly as it slowly descended through the air, its flapping robes making it look like an over-sized bat.

"Wolf Claw!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Angel Rod!"

But the attack did not end! After being forced into the air by the ranged attacks, the three melee fighters rushed up all around the robed being and took him by surprised.

The assault was swift, clean and powerful. Three waves of brutal strikes ignored the being's attempts of defence and tore it from the sky.

"Flower Cannon!"

"Tail Hammer!"

"Spiking Strike!"

The final attacks came down in a flash, having already taken down the creature by number and force; these attacks shall act as the finisher to this short-lived battle!

The ground exploded with a huge cloud of charred earth and blown soil, as if the force had pummelled the creature deep down into the ground itself.

_Already?_ Veemon couldn't quite believe his eyes.

But reality was quickly snapped back into everyone as Stingmon and Ankylomon was blasted back by what seemed like the force of a hurricane. From the murky depths of the smoke and dust, eight calmly standing silhouettes can be vaguely seen.

_Oh no…_ Veemon watched the reassembling of every one of his enemies hopelessly. The probability of winning is now so much slimmer, but the probability of _all _of the children making out of here in one piece…

**I, told, you.**

"Ahh!" Veemon doubled over as the voice echoed through his head, _shut up!_

The eight stood like an unmoving wall, silent yet foreboding in their black mass.

The one behind them got onto its feet and spoke, "Impressive indeed. If I was to face you all alone, I would no doubt loose." It walked steadily to the still unconscious Davis and telekinetically lifted him up into the air by his arms, "But unfortunately for you, I have no intention of combating you yet."

"You are not getting away!" At the same time, the digi-destined charged towards the creatures in their eager attempt to free their friend. They have made it in here already; they are not going to stop here now!

Light burst through the bodies of the eight in a cycle and blinded everyone before they knew it, they were charging up their energy again!

"Bring them down! Bring them down! Quickly! Now!" Gennai panicked and shouted furiously for the children to do something. There was no point running away, because there was no way they could get away in time.

Everyone charged at once, yet their distances were too great.

_Is this… too late…?_ Gennai stared at the ever growing flare of energy with empty despair, _damn it…_

But as suddenly as the torrent started, it disappeared.

Veemon was standing in place where the power flow was, his hand outstretched, absorbing every last stream of energy into his body.

But the smile on his face at that instance…

It sent chills down everyone's back.

As if realising his actions, the expression on his face changed from a sinister pleased grin to shock and horror. He stumbled back, trying hard to deny the wild pleasure that flowed through him but failing to do so.

Because it felt so… _fulfilling_…

"Very good." The robed creature spoke as he held a blade to Davis's neck from the behind, something told Veemon that it was very much pleased, "Despite how troublesome holding a hostage is, I am going to do this one last time."

"Davis!" Without thinking twice, Veemon chased after the two of them as they flew further down the plane at such a speed even Veemon found it difficult keeping up.

"Veemon! WAIT!" Gennai shouted desperately for Veemon to stop, dread clung onto him for fear of what unknown dangers there would soon be, "Chase after him, stop him!"

But the eight had obviously known what their plan and they weren't going to let it happen. Veemon was rash in deciding to run off, so they are now winning, and they will do whatever it takes to complete their long awaited goal.

The sounds of explosions and violent contacts were heard in the distance, Veemon couldn't help but stop for a second to look back at the battle scene now far behind him. _Oh no, what's happening to them?_ Could they actually fend off those eight monsters by themselves? Maybe… maybe he was too quick to leave them behind…

**Or would you rather your _precious_ partner to die?**

Veemon stumbled and fell on his knees again at the sound of the voice. No, it's too late to turn back now! He strengthened the muscles in his legs and sprinted forward, towards Davis and what future there may be left for them.

Gennai wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and watched the battle progress. It was hardly getting anywhere. The eight chased the digi-destined through the bleak sky as inky bolts of shadow, their relentless attacks had the digi-destined on the run the whole time, there was barely anytime to evade attacks, never mind counterattacking. Either way, they weren't going to get past the eight like this.

"Focus on one enemy at a time!" Strategies and ideas went through Gennai's head, but strategy was nearly useless when the opposing force was so overwhelming, "Focus your fire power! Bring them down one by one!"

"Easier said than done!" Tai replied loudly from the back of Metal Greymon, who was half way between attacking when a bolt of life-draining energy missed him by inches, "But we could give it a try!"

Metal Greymon and Tai decided to take the high risk anyway, he turned its body back and impressively manoeuvred through the air before unleashing the Giga Blaster upon the shadow that chased right behind them. The attack missed, but at once, the digi-destined got the idea…

The attack was on!

**Further Away:**

The robed being stopped moving.

Veemon stopped moving too, because the creature once again held the sword to the neck of the now awake Davis.

"Let him go! I'm here now! Do what you will, but let him go!" Veemon cried before the two, "What is your plan, huh? What is it?!"

"This has wasted a lot of time indeed. So now for the final catalyst." The robed being raised the blade and said, "His death would surely raise your efforts, no?"

It only took a moment for the horror to sink into Veemon's head…

He should never have trusted… no, _believed_ that thing.

"Leave me then…" Davis spoke, his voice was croaky, but those eyes he looked at Veemon with proved his determination, "I'm sorry, for being so useless… If only I…" A shiny tear fell from his eye and rolled down his face, followed by yet another, "I wish I could have done more, I'm so sorry… that things are now in such a mess! I don't want any of you to get hurt, go!"

"What are you talking about?" Veemon muttered under his breath, it hurt him greatly to see Davis, the hot-headed Davis, so totally broken up like this.

But the blade flashed before his eye, it was coming… it was coming fast, coming fast to claim Davis's life!

"NO!"

Veemon sprinted forward on first instinct; he dashed across the dry earth like the wind, flying across their distance in no time to meet the enemy's blade.

_SLASH…_

Davis closed his eyes and hot blood splashed against his face, the blade came down before he could even see it…

_Wait…_

But he slowly opened his eyes again, because he didn't feel a thing.

The robed being held the sword tight, the first half of the blade has already passed through Veemon's chest.

"No… Veemon?" Davis stared at the sight in disbelief; the robed being wasn't aiming for him to begin with!

"Huh… ahh!" Veemon coughed from the shock of the searing pain in his chest, he looked down at the wound and held onto the blade with one hand as the creature slowly pushed the blade in further. He tried to stop it but to no avail, the size of the wound was ghastly considering Veemon's body, and the pain from the bleeding wound was just unbearable…

"VEEMON!"

Without a warning, the creature pulled the entire sword out from Veemon's body, the blade shined crimson in the sinister moonlight as it sent a long splash of blood across the ground.

Veemon collapsed onto his back, lying in a quickly gathering pool of his own blood. His sight was blurring, but he could see Davis still helplessly crying and shouting his name…

It was getting dark…

**Well, well… here we are after all, huh?**

_…_

**It's ending, Vee, this it where it _all_ ends… or begins, if you think about it, hehehehe…**

The robed being dropped the blood stained sword and looked idly over at the horizon, which seemed edgeless in this barren wasteland.

A vivid blue light shone in the distance, a feint light, but the ominous radiation was unquestionable. The light was getting brighter, brighter and brighter…

Something is coming.

"At last…" The creature stared at the moon motionlessly, "Millenniums of sealed away torment, life times of empty existence, the era where we were nothing more than incorporeal memories…"

"… Is about to come to an end…"

* * *

Well, at least I am back in business, hehe. Thank you for reading, the story will come to an end_ very_ soon, so you won't have to wait long to see the end now.

Also, if any of you are interested in reading a (perhaps) lighter tone Digimon VeeGato fanfic, I recommend [Bryont the Calumon]'s "Moon's Forgotten Radiance". This can be found here:

s/5898591/1/Digimon_Moons_Forgotten_Radiance

Bryont is a good friend but needs a lot of support for his works; I would have never guessed that my work would actually get this popular with you guys. Which means without you guy's support, I would have never gotten this far with this fic. So please help him, I'm sure Bryont would appreciate it greatly, thank you.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	33. Chapter 33 Origins

I updated… yes, I can't believe it either…

Sorry about that, I really don't know how to apologize for this hiatus, haha, if you actually care, that is. It is near the end now, I _will_ complete it, so don't worry.

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**Chapter 33: Origins**

"Come now, claim it. Claim what is rightfully yours and fulfil your purpose." The robed being levitated off the ground, transforming into a bolt of shadow and flew away, leaving the two alone in the empty wilderness.

The bands around Davis's wrists disappeared; the sudden shift in weight caused him to fall heavily onto the floor. But he did not care, Davis dashed quickly towards Veemon, not wasting a second to hold his wounded friend up.

"Veemon? Veemon!" Davis shook Veemon slightly; he desperately tried to think of something to do. The ghastly size of the wound frightened him. There was no way the digi-vice could heal this wound… but still, it is better than nothing.

"Da.. vis…" Veemon let out a tiny whimper.

"Veemon!" Davis quickly picked Veemon up and held him close, tears of both relief and sadness welled in his eyes, "Hang on, I'm bringing you back to the others." It's the only thing he could do right now.

"Let… me go…" Veemon's voice was ever so weak; he coughed uncontrollably, causing blood to spurt out his mouth.

"Shh… don't worry; I'll be as fast as possible." Davis tried to hide his fear and worry.

Suddenly, Davis felt something agitating him in the throat, it travelled quickly up to his mouth, causing him to spit it out. It was the blue pill.

Davis stumped on it in frustration; he held a hand to close Veemon's eyes and ran back the way they came as quickly as possible.

At least, away from the half lit sky of the other horizon.

Veemon felt his consciousness slip away; his sight seemed to have grown dark. He was losing control…

But he was not dying.

**Not too far away:**

The battle was the scene of utter chaos, in the air, digimons and robed creatures chased after one another in circles. On the grounds below, an uncountable amount of clawed tentacles thrashed about, pulling at anything they find, ready to tear them apart any time.

Gennai stayed on the ground and focused his power on clearing away the eerie melody that filled the atmosphere, given any chance it would immediately start to erode away at the minds of the digimon and children. Ankylomon swatted away at the claws that constantly protruded from the ground while Aquilamon dissipated away the blue flames that came too close.

MetalGarurumon fired barrages missiles at the sniper of the eight, they have fought before and he knows how dangerous it can be. If constantly keeping it distracted can stop the others from being hurt, then he must do it.

The others were caught up in the heat of their dog fight in the air; four robed creatures flew about, chasing or being chased by their targets. Rainbow wires weaved through the sky, trying to grab onto anything to use as its new puppet, Stingmon and Lillymon took it onto themselves to destroy any of those they saw. MegaKabuterimon and Garudamon circled the venom spewing creature, directing its venom away from everyone else. Joe had prepared in his own way, he immediately shot at the phantom being with his neon marker gun, its illusions were now completely useless. Their teamwork was perfect.

Angewomon was not with the rest of them, she flew to the edge of the battlefield along with Kari clinging onto her back. She had another approach to the battle, but more importantly, she wanted revenge.

Angewomon watched her target fly in the midst of the chaos, the creature only distinguishable by its way of attacking: it purposefully stands in the way of one of the digimon's fire, only to send a cluster of black bony spikes back in that direction, stunning them and forcing them to dodge. Angewomon had kept her arrow notched the whole time, she gathered as much power as possible into it, all the while keeping full concentration on the target.

"…Angewomon?" Came Kari's nervous voice from behind her, "you sure you can do this?"

Angewomon did not turn her head. "Mhm…" she nodded slightly.

Angewomon looked one more time, carefully calculating the path of her target and her missile; she swallowed, and released the arrow.

A bright bolt of light arched across the sky, brilliant like a falling star. The missile fell, its body glowing blazing silver. Everyone turned and stared at the arrow for a brief second, and that was enough time for it to strike home.

In the face of the arrow flying straight at it, the creature actually hesitated. Its reflexes making everything seem slow motioned, but it had underestimated the speed of this attack, in fact, it never saw it coming.

The arrow struck the creature through the neck, the impact tearing through its robe as if paper. The outburst of energy shredded its hooded head and much of the upper torso to flying pieces.

The creature's body burst into hundreds of spikes and fell to the ground, exploding into a storm of torn black fabric as it landed. The smoke rose as the fabric fell, flying through the air as if the confetti of a celebration.

"You did it!" Kari yelled in pleasant surprise, "We got one of them already!"

For a brief second, Angewomon had lost control and fell towards the ground, but she quickly regained balance. Her face was covered in sweat and she felt as if she could faint any moment.

"Are you okay?" Kari was suddenly worried, she quickly asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Angewomon wiped her face and started flying, "time to rejoin the others."

The commotion caused by the creature's death seemed to have stunned the other robed creatures; this was an opportunity that the digi-destined must not waste!

"Zudomon, now!" Izzy shouted towards Joe and Zudomon whilst pointing at the venom spewing creature in front of them.

"Got it! Hammer Spark!" Zudomon slammed his hammer onto the ground as shockwaves and sparks flew from his weapon, the creature was trapped in between MegaKabuterimon and Garudamon, the energy caught it with no problem.

The creature twitched about uncontrollably as the energy ran through its entire body, but without water acting as conductor, that was not enough.

"Finish it off!" MegaKabuterimon and Garudamon both shouted at once.

"Horn Buster!"

"Wing Blade!"

The burst of black smoke was all that everyone saw, the creature was done for. Finally, two down.

"I see that you are all still alive."

A chilling voice spoke to everyone, instantly grabbing their attention and drawing their eyes in its direction. The blade wielding creature had returned. Every one of the remaining creatures quickly returned to its side, all of them standing silently in the formation of a line.

"Yeah..." Tai replied with pride in his voice, "Just look at you all, hah, you are obviously not as powerful as you claim to be."

"I will make it clear." Shouted Matt from atop MetalGarurumon, "We have destroyed abominations far more terrifying than you things before, hand back our friends and don't ever bother us again! Otherwise, we will just finish you off like the rest of those scumbags!"

The robed being paused for a second and examined all the digimons standing before it, Matt's voice was doubtless, he meant every last word of it. "I indeed could have not foreseen such inventions as you before. Children, chosen by the world itself, there is no way to measure your power by normal means. Although the data that we could obtain from you are ever so tantalizing…"

"Just shut up already!" Angewomon shouted furiously, she wanted to see how Davis and Veemon were, and she did not want to waste anymore time, "Give back our friends or you die!" Angewomon quickly notched another arrow, "This is my last warning…"

"How amusing, you seem to believe that you are in the position of power at this moment." The creature replied, it waved its arm through the air and pointed in the direction of the other creatures.

Two bolts of shadow dropped from the skies above and landed with a cloud of smoke and dust, two new robed beings appeared in its place, resurrected from their defeat. The sight of their reappearance struck new fear into everyone's heart, the hope they have had was slowly being crushed.

"Do you realise how pointless this ordeal is." The leading robed being continued, "You are in our domain, and it is here that we reign absolute. You may survive our attacks, but you will never gain victory."

Silence followed the comment, and it is only now when everyone noticed the half-lit sky towards the endless horizon. The digi-destined stared at the foreboding blue as it quickly drew away all their attention.

"The end is here, as much data as your death may provide us; we can still ignore it for our greater goal."

"You captured it, didn't you?" Gennai abruptly jumped to the front of the group and questioned the robed being, his voice raising as he spoke, "That creature that fell through the crack in the dark area not so long ago. You captured it, _didn't you_?"

"It is that indeed, the perfect vessel of the dark corrupted data and so much more. In "her", these data took corporeal form, though unstable they may be." The being moved its head in the direction of the light and once again stared at it idly, "Such a marvellous source of power, raw and undulated, so unrefined that even we cannot extract it."

"So you plan to weaken it, you plan to let the two weaken each other so that-"

"So that we could take them both, yes." The being suddenly turned around and stared at Gennai, "So that we could finally obtain what we were destined to have, don't you realise? That is what we deserve, we waited, we suffered eternity for it. It is rightfully ours!"

The voice of the being rose, it was the first time its voice had any kind of emotion.

"Guys! Over here! HELP!"

Davis's voice echoed across their distance, everyone quickly looked over towards that direction. Davis slowly began to appear in their vision. He was running as fast as his exhausted body would allow him; in his arms was an unconscious Veemon, his white skin dyed red with blood.

"It's time for us to leave." The robed being looked at the digi-destined one more time, "It is our beginning, but this is your ending."

With that, the nine robed beings flew away as bolts of smoke and shadow, leaving the children and their digimons silent in the area.

"Come on! Let's go help them!" Angewomon was the first to move, the others quickly followed.

Davis fell on his knees and laid Veemon onto the floor, "Do something… anything, quick!" He practically begged everyone around him as he shouted out the words.

Gennai got down on one knee and laid a hand on Veemon's wound, he muttered quietly as his left hand started glowing, all the while taking stuff out of his leather bag with his right hand. Davis breathed heavily, ignoring the cuts and bruises all over his body.

"I can't believe… I can't believe it's come down to all this…" Davis choked as tears streamed down his face, "How did I mess up so badly…"

Kari quietly hugged him from behind, trying to calm him down a little, it was a sad thing to see someone so cheerful utterly broken like this.

Elsewhere, there was another battle being fought…

**_Hey, Veemon..._**

Veemon opened his eyes, alert shot through him and he tried to sit up, but his body simply would not allow him, he was immobilised. _Am I dead?_ He thought.

"We are so close now… Hehe, it's there, right there, waiting, waiting to be claimed, hehehe."

Veemon tuned his head and looked in the direction of the voice, the stinging, loathsome voice that sounded ever so uncanny to him.

In the midst of the empty darkness that surrounded him in all direction, he saw… himself…

"From the beginning to the end, such a drag, why did I have to wait… why? It's here, I want to… I want to… why… good, hehe, good, very…"

Standing before his eyes was himself, identical down to every last detail. It stood before him, speaking incoherent gibberish. Something about that thing unsettled Veemon, it looked like him, but it didn't… something about it felt very, very wrong.

"Together, one, whole… why shouldn't it? Why WASN'T IT?! I will… now, forever." It slowly walked towards Veemon, lying immobilised on the "ground", its eyes stared emptily as Veemon struggled to move. He really, _really_ wanted to get away from that thing.

Veemon stared, silently and in fear as the clone stopped right before him, it muttered in its nonsensical way, "Complete… eternal… whole… fulfilled… destroy… present…" The creature raised both of its hands, its fingers curled, frozen like claws.

"…help…" Veemon closed his eyes and whispered helplessly to himself.

A wave of energy crashed into the creature in front of him, sending it flying back by a dozen metres. Veemon quickly opened his eyes, in front of him now stood the silver skinned ExVeemon.

The clone let out a shrill scream of anger, so piercing Veemon could swear it made his ears bleed, he winced and looked again.

"Get… AWAY! LEAVE!" The creature opened its mouth to a ghastly size and continued to scream in its painfully sharp voice, "Do not… interfere… NO!"

"The end, huh…" The silver skinned ExVeemon readied himself again and spoke in his ever so solemn voice, "I, guess I should have saw you coming." He turned his head around to look at Veemon and continued to speak, "I don't have the power to stop neither you nor those nine outside… but, that does not mean I will just give up and let you do what you what."

He turned around and focused on the clone again, the creature's body started twitching even more violently, its mouths curled into a cruel looking grin. "I have failed enough times in my existence, I am just grateful to have been given a second chance. So at the very least, I _will_ die trying."

Another scream came from the creature, echoing through the space they were trapped in. It readied its twisted body once more, its form a perversion of its original self, its being utterly consumed in berserked rage.

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Okay… ironically enough, I uploaded this on New Year's Day…

Don't know what else to say, hehe, no excuses or anything, isn't that new.

But anyway, I hope you enjoy it, I will try and finish the ending as soon as possible.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	34. Chapter 34 Destination

Gah! I couldn't finish the story in this chapter! Sorry!

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**Chapter 34: Destination**

The twisted creature crossed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye; it pounced onto the ExVeemon's arms and easily pinned him down before jumping forward towards Veemon. But ExVeemon quickly turned around and grabbed the creature by its tail and pulled. It screamed once again as it was sent flying backwards for a few dozen feet.

"My... mine…" It muttered insanely under its breath, there was clearly no way of stopping it. Without delay, it charged at them again. ExVeemon swung to the side and thrust his fist, striking the creature squarely in the face. It instinctively backed off, but did not take long to recover.

"Vee-Laser!"

ExVeemon followed up on his assault, but it did not falter, it charged forward yet again, jumping perfectly over the energy beam hurling towards it. It came close, however, despite its power, it knew no self preservation. ExVeemon dodged backwards with a summersault, catching the creature under the chin with a kick and once again repelled it.

"Hey…" Veemon called out to the elder one, his voice was surprisingly calm, "Do you know? What's going to happen now?"

ExVeemon turned and took a look at him, they both knew the answer to that question, but saying it is still difficult.

The enraged hissing of the creature interrupted whatever ExVeemon was about to say. It was not even trying to fight, it was not dodging nor parrying any of ExVeemon's attacks, it was mad, desperate to be at its goal. The creature ignored ExVeemon all together, focusing all its depraved attention on Veemon and Veemon only.

"Veemon…" ExVeemon spoke softly in-between his breath, "Are you afraid?"

Veemon stared emptily for a second, he then sighed and said, "… yes… I don't want to become a monster, I really don't..."

The creature came at him again and again, only to be beaten down and send back by ExVeemon's attacks, yet still it was relentless.

"To be honest… I kind of knew that this was going to happen anyway." Veemon continued, his voice sounded so empty and cold, but his grief was also just as distinct, "I just didn't think I would be quite so powerless to it…"

"You are not powerless, Veemon." ExVeemon replied quickly, "Those times when you and your friends felt hopeless and weak in the face of danger but fought on regardless. Those times when you thought that there was no chance of victory but did not give up, because you would rather die than see those dear to you get hurt. Those moments, never forget them! That fearless and optimistic spirit, don't ever lose it! That is power, Veemon, the power that you did and will always have!"

The creature struck again, forcing ExVeemon to regain focus on combat. Veemon only stared at ExVeemon; he did not know how to respond. Why didn't he remember? Those things ExVeemon just said, those words embodied what Veemon was during the time they spent fighting against the forces that threatened their digital world so long ago, how did he forget? This past month have changed him so much, only now does Veemon realise this.

"I regret the fact that I cannot save you from this fate, and I will never attempt to excuse my actions and mistakes." ExVeemon spoke after another barrage of attacks, "but nevertheless, I am glad and grateful to have seen you, met you, and to have known you this well."

Veemon smiled and closed his eyes, he spoke in a slightly cheerful tone, "You are still talking to me as if I'm some stranger… father."

ExVeemon turned to look at Veemon again, the surprise on his face quickly changed to a content smile, "… thank you." He said, but it wasn't long before he was forced to focus on the creature, "Trust your friends, Veemon; you are just as dear to them as they are to you, and they will not leave you to suffer. Don't ever be afraid, you are not alone." With that, ExVeemon fully focused onto the creature and charged towards it.

The two of them ran full speed at each other, without hesitating as they both slammed into the enemy's body, falling onto the floor. The creature crawled on all fours and attempted to jump to Veemon. But ExVeemon grabbed both of its hind legs and dragged its body onto the floor. The two of them struggled to pin the other down, the corrupted creature was far stronger than its size implies. They struggled, locking each other's limbs to try and gain the upper hand. The fight now became a test of pure strength and endurance.

A booming noise suddenly filled the air, the sound so penetrating it made Veemon cringe and wince at the pain.

The two of them looked towards the direction of the noise. Out of the darkness, there was a foreboding blue glow. It looked a long way away, yet it also looked within a hand's reach. The ephemeral light flickered bright and dark, like a cerulean flame dancing against a starless night sky.

But what caught everyone's attention, was its centre.

**The Others:**

"What is that?" Kari looked towards the source of the glow and asked, the entire sky was now lit up by the feint yet crushing glow, "It looks like… an Angewomon."

At the source, on the ground not so far away now, a corpse-like Angewomon glided across the earth. Her face obscured and her arms dangling by her side, her legs waved as she floated weightlessly above the ground. There was an aura around her, all of what little data were surrounding her were being quickly broken down and absorbed, the rocks, grass, trees and even soil, leaving behind an empty dead trail. But what was most striking, was the fact that the aura was alive. It looked like a writhing cloud of transparent smoke, its colour alternating between blue and purple.

However, it was not smoke. Through the blurry image, figures can be made out. They were faces, faces twisted by pain and disfigured beyond recognition; they stretched, screaming in agony as they moved. The aura that now covered half of the sky was a mass of writhing, mangled remains of what once were digimon, it seethed out of the Angewomon's body, tearing apart and absorbing any data before them. The soul-rending echoes of their demented cries can be heard even from this distance.

"Get away… we need to get away from that thing!" Davis picked up Veemon and ran forward, "I've seen what it can do, we must get away!"

Gennai quickly formed a glowing bubble around everyone in the group, blocking out the cries of the dark data. "Come on, we need to move!" Gennai shouted as everyone struggled to get back up onto their feet. They ran, as fast as they could without bursting the bubble. It may not be hard to outrun that thing. But for how long? They all knew perfectly well that it is not going to stop chasing them.

**Inside Veemon:**

Shock and disbelief froze ExVeemon in his place; he could do nothing but stare at the Angewomon quickly approaching their way.

The creature caught this opportunity; it lunged forward and elbowed ExVeemon in the face before kicking him in the chest, freeing itself from his grasp. Without any delay, it dashed towards Veemon.

"No!" ExVeemon reacted too late, he moved his arm in an attempt to grab the creature, however, it was far too quick.

Veemon clenched his teeth and watched as the creature appeared before him, it hissed in it's uncontrollably fits, muttering words that are now totally incoherent nonsense.

"I'm not afraid…" he quietly chanted, "Davis… Gatomon… everyone, I won't let you down…"

ExVeemon sprinted towards the two of them full speed, his arm outstretched, trying his hardest to grab the creature.

It was too late, the creature reared up and screeched. It lifted its claws high into the air, stared straight into Veemon's eye for that long second, and brought them down hard onto Veemon's body.

The darkness surrounding them suddenly vanished, torn to pieces and drawn into the body of Veemon and the creature. Then, without a single sound, the two of them became the centre of the explosion. ExVeemon covered his eyes, a torrent of data and black smoke rushed towards him, lifting him off the "ground" and pushed him away like a fallen leaf in the wind. The silent explosion continued, it was becoming impossible to see what was going on at all.

ExVeemon felt the gravity quickly disappear, he opened his eyes and looked around, but instead of seeing the explosion, he saw the shocked faces of Veemon's friends and Gennai.

"What's happening?" The old man shouted furiously, he did not waste any time, "If he's not dying, then what is going on with his data?!"

ExVeemon looked slightly confused at first, he was banished from Veemon's mind now, apparently. But it also seems to have given him a partially independent body for this moment. He turned to look at Gennai and replied.

"I couldn't stop it… it has probably taken over by now, you need to get away."

Gennai lowered his head and sighed, "Inevitable, I see…"

"What?" Davis asked anxiously, he always hated it when he didn't understand what was going on, and now that the life of his friend is in the question, "What do you mean 'it has taken over'?"

"It's happening again. They have succeeded in turning Veemon back into the weapon they created him to be. When he's complete, he will lose his mind. He won't recognise any of you and he will kill you if given the chance. So go, you must get as far away as possible." ExVeemon explained, given the current situation, he sounded unbelievably calm.

"Wait, what? You are telling me to leave Veemon here?!" Davis looked at Gennai to confirm his answer; Gennai only nodded slightly, "No!" He cried out in protest, "I can't do that… I can't, I'm not going to leave him again!"

"What do you think Veemon would feel like if he discovered that he had killed his best friend and everyone else?" ExVeemon continued, "I under-"

"No you don't!" Davis shouted back furiously, "You _don't_ understand! All of this… all of this…" He no longer cared as he felt the tears on his face, "…shouldn't have been this bad if only I didn't act like such an idiot… I don't want to make another mistake; I must make it up to Veemon, I need to help him-"

Davis stopped mid-sentence, he felted ExVeemon's huge palm grip gently onto his wrist. He looked at ExVeemon, who nodded towards Davis's hand.

Davis opened his clenched palm, inside, was his digi-vice. Its bright radiance contrasted greatly against this world of dirt and grime they were in. Davis remembered what Gennai had told him to do, and he had held onto it ever since. If Gennai told him to do so, then it must be important, and Davis would hang onto _anything_ important right now.

"You _can_. You _can_ help him." ExVeemon replied, he smiled and closed Davis's hand around the digi-vice again, "But you can't senselessly throw away your life like this now."

ExVeemon let go of Davis and stood up, "You are all his friends, and you all want to help him, of that, I have no doubt." He spoke to the group, "Please, take care of him."

"Wait." Gennai walked up to ExVeemon and stopped him, "You are going to…"

ExVeemon nodded, "Thank you, for all you've done. I will never be able to repay you."

"It's okay." Gennai replied solemnly, "Well then… farewell, and good luck."

The two of them gave each other one final look and shook hands. Perhaps, they have both realised the silent friendship they had shared, for the first time since they met, so many years ago.

Davis looked at ExVeemon with confusion and curiosity, "Who… who are you?" He asked.

ExVeemon chuckled, he did not turn to reply, "…not someone who needs to be remembered."

With that, he headed away from the group and sprinted at full speed towards the burning horizon.

"Come on, Davis." After a few seconds of silence, Kari walked pass Davis and persuaded him, "We need to go… please."

Davis couldn't take his eyes off Veemon even as he reluctantly stood up. Kari gently pushed him along; they walked away with the rest of the group. Further and further away as Veemon became nothing but a tiny blue dot in their vision.

Angewomon, who was now Gatomon, followed the others silently. She also could not take her eyes off Veemon as they walked. He was totally still, silent, maybe not even breathing. But she knew that he was alive, no matter what others say or what she can see, she just knew.

Looking back, not even all that long ago, when they had enjoyed their picnic together, the ice cream, the ride… the time that seemed so distant, yet made her feel so happy. She yearns for that time once more. To experience that same happiness again, this, was her determination.

* * *

(Sighs) This really has dragged on hasn't it? Sorry about this, but never the less, thank you for reading, I will finish it soon (I say that a lot, don't I).

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	35. Chapter 35 Destruction

Err…

* * *

**Chapter 35: Destruction**

There were black trails in the sky, the nine were chasing him. ExVeemon looked up and panicked, he couldn't possibly outrun them. Although… that is not really the point anymore, ExVeemon pushed himself harder and sprinted, it was the only thing he could do right now.

ExVeemon hesitated as he ran past Veemon, the tiny blue creature that looked pathetic as it laid in the wasteland, alone and unconscious. The black trails quickly closed in, he forced himself to take his eyes off Veemon and kept running forward. If there was anything he could do now…

As suddenly as they appeared, the black trails vanished, they turned back to the way they came and disappeared. ExVeemon stopped running and turned to look for a second, wondering the reason of their unexpected departure. It did not take him long to figure out.

A burst of flames erupted forth from Veemon's body, it engulfed his entire being and quickly spread, expanding in size and consuming the area around him in an azure inferno. His transformation had begun. ExVeemon looked away and quickly started running again.

He did not have to run for long.

Because he has found what, or rather, who, he was looking for.

**Further Away:**

The bright flames caught Davis's attention; he stopped walking and stared at it, again not sure at what he should do. He was anxious, he was anxious when he watched the trails in the sky as they chased after the sprinting ExVeemon, now he was anxious as to what will happen next. What they are doing now was just as planned by the Nine, and that cannot possibly be good, he felt that they just had to do something…

"Davis?" T.K. bumped into Davis as he stopped walking, he paused for a second and looked in the same direction as Davis. The flames grew and became bright, the light did not look good, "… you are not thinking of going back are you?"

Davis did not reply, he froze in his tracks.

"Hey… it's too dangerous, we should wait."

"Yeah, I know. But I don't want to get too far away." Davis opened his hand and looked at the digi-vice again, "I won't get close, but I want to stay here… I don't want to just wait for something to happen."

"Actually, you might have a point there." Gennai walked from the head of the group back to Davis, "I think we have walked far enough, he shouldn't notice us before the Angewomon." He looked at the distance they have made from Veemon and said, "If anything happens, we can quickly go back and act, or we could keep running away. This is a rather good distance to keep."

A sense of optimism rushed through Davis, he smiled and thought, _this is actually the first time Gennai has agreed with me_. That must have meant something good.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted. The Nine arrived without warning; their startling appearance had caught everyone off guard. The digimons quickly readied themselves for battle, but the robed creatures have not yet made a move.

"We cannot let you go back, we will not allow any hazards to our plan to surface now." The middle one stepped forth and spoke, without the weapons, it was impossible to tell which of the creatures it was. "You are no longer our focus, but interfere now, and we will eliminate all risks."

Davis clenched his teeth in anger, without his partner, he did not want to be involved in any more battles. But what troubled him more, was the events that were rapidly occurring much further ahead.

Then, a deafening noise quickly drew away everyone's attention. A roar, one that shook the very earth they stood upon. Everyone looked behind the wall of black the Nine had formed and at the explosion of blue flames behind, the transformation was complete.

The first to sprout forth from the flames were a gigantic pair of dark silver wings, they flexed and opened, as if ready to take flight. The body of a dragon then followed, grey yet lustrous scales of metal covered the body from neck to tail. The iris-less eye shone a radiant blue, so bright it can be seen from where they were.

The dragon, wreathed in a cloak of roaring blue flames, reared its head and roared once more, sending a jet of intense blue fire into the sky, a terrifying beacon to signal an incoming battle.

"Magnificent, is it not?" The same robed being spoke again, "This ageless weapon... no, it can no longer be described as a tool."

It continued to stare at the monstrous digimon that was once Veemon, "Yes, Apophismon, that is a fitting name."

**Battlefield:**

The limp Angewomon floated towards him like a ghost, the aura of dark data poured out of her mouth and surrounded her, corrupting everything within the range.

ExVeemon could not say anything, he saw what she had become, that visage of death itself, or perhaps even worse. He just stood there, shock and sadness freezing him in place.

A sudden roar snapped him out of his sea of thoughts. He turned around to the direction of the noise, just in time for a back draft of blue flames to lift him off his feet and blew him back. He quickly recovered balance and witnessed the birth of Veemon's new form.

ExVeemon covered his ears as Apophismon roared once more; he was tiny in comparison to the monster. It took flight, not even noticing his presence.

Leaving behind a trail of fire as it went; Apophismon quickly flew towards the Angewomon. She stopped moving as well, focusing all attention on the dragon as it glided around her in circles.

The battle had begun.

Drawing in a huge gust of air, Apophismon opened its mouth and unleashed a surge of blue flames down upon the Angewomon. The liquid-like flames instantly engulfed the entire area she was standing upon.

The blinding glare forced ExVeemon to cover his eyes; the heat wave hit him immediately after, scorching his skin as it past. ExVeemon instinctively stretched out an arm towards the Angewomon, still fearful of her fate, but his concern was pointless.

The blue flames that covered the Angewomon quickly lost their colour; the fires flickered slightly and faded, drawn into her body as a broken cluster of data.

As if realising the failure of the attack, Apophismon stopped encircling Angewomon and hovered midair. Angewomon closed in on her target; she slowly levitated off the ground, attempting to swallow the dragon inside her all-corrupting globe of data.

Apophismon flew back further and let out another attack. As if drawn from the air itself, countless trails of light flew into Apophismon's mouth. They accumulated at once, forming an orb of swirling energy. It jerked its head and spat the orb out of its mouth, sending it flying straight towards the slowly ascending Angewomon.

The orb made contact, with another white-turquoise flash, the orb rapidly expanded into a tremendous sphere of burning destruction. Crimson flames danced across its surface as indigo energy swirled underneath, the sphere pulled chunks of earth and everything upon it towards its centre. Everything perished to ashen data the moment it struck against the sphere's surface.

ExVeemon dug his claws into the earth and clung onto it with all his might, the force tugged painfully at his legs and threatened at every moment to drag him to a fiery death. It was impossible to see what was happening between the two battling digimons, it was hard to even open his eyes.

The long seconds of struggling against the implosion came to an end. The sphere exploded with an almighty blast, the force decimated all five senses. The white flare shot up into the sky and for that one moment, turned the unbroken night into the brightest of days.

It did not take too long for ExVeemon to recover consciousness. As soon as senses returned to him, he struggled back up and looked for where the two digimon now were. However, what caught his attention first was this site of devastation. The round crater was gigantic, a jarring dent upon this otherwise perfectly flat wasteland. Scarlet embers riddled the slops of the hollow. Half a dozen metres below at its centre, stood the Angewomon.

The aura of the twisted digimon entangled itself around her body like a barrier, despite the immense explosion that just occurred; she was not fazed in the slightest.

Apophismon flew further up and hissed in rage. It continued to encircle Angewomon, and as it flew it shed a rain of scales down upon Angewomon. The scales combusted in midair, turning into a hailstorm of burning darts, however, as soon as the projectiles fell into Angewomon's aura, they too lost colour and quickly dissipated.

Suddenly, the living darkness untangled from Angewomon and lunged out at Apophismon. The range of the attack clearly surprised it; it tried to fly away but was too late. The black corrupted data extended and caught its wing, immediately dragging it back onto the ground. Angewomon promptly floated forward and swallowed the entirety of the dragon within its globe. Apophismon let out a roar of pain as its scales and skin began to crack and dissipate, it reared its head and opened its jaws wide and a stream of pale light struck forth towards Angewomon.

The dark data once again enclosed itself around the Angewomon, shielding her from the spear of light. At the same time, the decay upon Apophismon's body slowed down, but it did not let go. Apophismon strained harder and the beam of light became more intense. The barrier began to dissolve and falter under its power. Seizing this chance, Apophismon put even more strength into the attack. The shattering of Angewomon's barrier seemed inevitable. As if out of desperation, the darkness that enveloped Apophismon abruptly disappeared, they returned and fortified the shield around Angewomon, immediately rendering Apophismon's attack useless.

Without wasting any time, Apophismon quickly took flight. Its wrath was so visible. The projectiles were useless against the Angewomon, they may hold her in place, but they cannot deal any damage. Apophismon let out another thunderous roar, this time, even more blue flames ruptured from its body, turning the dragon into a living fireball. Apophismon took its glistening blue eyes and stared at Angewomon for a few seconds, before diving down towards her like a falcon to its prey.

The Angewomon readied herself, but the dragon came all too quickly. Its blazing claws tore right through her defence, flames devouring the shadows, and knocked her limp body flat onto the ground.

Apophismon let out a bellow of triumph, but to its utter surprise, it had not yet won.

The corrupted aura chased up on the flying dragon and grabbed its tail like a tentacle. Angewomon floated back onto her feet, and with a tug, torn the beast out of the sky and slammed its body onto the ground. The dazed Apophismon tried to react to the attack, but Angewomon had already completely swallowed it within its aura.

Two sharp "snap" echoed across the field. Apophismon let out a sharp bay of pain as its wings went limp. The Angewomon closed in on it, the dragon was about to ready another attack, but before it could even rear its head, a force wrapped itself around its muzzle and another strangled his neck.

ExVeemon could wait no longer; he charged from his position and ran down the slope faster than he ever ran before. He won't let it happen, he had only just seen her again, whatever they were planning, whatever it means, he won't let it happen…

Apophismon desperately flailed its limbs around, trying to retaliate against the Angewomon as she came closer. With a nod, the corrupted data wrapped around Apophismon's limbs and twisted them in other direction, forcing them onto the ground.

ExVeemon heard the second cry, he pushed himself even further. He tripped and tumbled down the slope, the embers left burns all over his body. ExVeemon quickly recovered balance and continued running with more vigour still.

Angewomon stopped moving several dozens of metres away from Apophismon, from within her mouth, a pitch black smoke rose. The smoke twisted and flicked before assembling to form a shape, it was that of a lance. The point of the lance, was aiming at the torso of the helpless Apophismon.

ExVeemon charged straight into Angewomon's corrupted aura. At that moment of contact, the world lost its colour. A mind-shattering pain caused ExVeemon to fall onto his knees; he looked at his body and stared in disbelief, pieces of data began rising out of him, they danced in the air for a brief second before disappearing into nothing.

Fighting desperately against the pain, ExVeemon got back onto his feet and tried to run towards Angewomon. Something crushed against his back like a jagged boulder and the aura made him feel agonisingly nauseous. ExVeemon closed his eyes and put his final strength into this struggle.

_Not now, please…_

_Not now…_

* * *

I'M SO SORRY!

It's not finished, but hey, look on the bright side… the next chapter definitely _will_ be the final one.

Review please! Thank you! And no flaming!


	36. Millennium's Blood, Conclusion of Fate

This… this is it, finally, at last…

* * *

**Final Chapter: Millennium's Blood, Conclusion of Fate**

Apophismon struggled for its life in vain; its powers were utterly useless inside the Angewomon's aura. She stood calmly before it, readying the execution of the flailing beast.

ExVeemon pressed on, he was slowly dissolving, the twisted spectral digimons wailed all around him, tearing at his flesh. He resisted the urge to just fall down and dissipate, becoming one of the tormented digimons, he still had that much willpower. ExVeemon limped painfully towards Angewomon, if she kills Veemon here, then he would have failed them both a second time. He could not bear that thought… it was too late for him, but not for everyone else.

Like a pitch black serpent, the dark lance reared its four-bladed head and eagerly aimed at Apophismon's chest. The smoke surrounding it disappeared, revealing the countless barbs covering its shaft. The lance had fully materialized.

ExVeemon panicked, the effects of the aura had caused him to slow down, but the sight of the weapon fully forming forced him to struggle even harder.

He was too late; Angewomon jerked forward and lowered her head, the spear thrust forward and struck its mark in the blink of an eye. Apophismon let out a resounding cry of pain, a scream that shook the ground ExVeemon stood upon. The lance had completed penetrated Apophismon's body, the head lodged deep into the ground, tightly pinning the dragon down. The barbs immediately began glowing. A stream of data, thick as a pale blue mist, crawled out of Apophismon's wound and along the spear shaft, into Angewomon's mouth.

His mind blanked out on that moment, "No…" ExVeemon let out a silent cry. A burst of adrenaline rushed through him; instinct blindly drove him to charge forward. ExVeemon dashed towards Angewomon and tackled her with all his might. Pre-occupied with the execution of Apophismon, Angewomon could not resist but only fall limply onto the ground. But she quickly levitated and regained balance, the lance was still connected.

The pain drove him to the edge of his sanity; ExVeemon threw himself against Angewomon and held her tightly in his arms. He has not felt such desperation since the last time he fought and failed, the moment's thought sent all the memories flooding back in. He did not want to fail again, even if it meant a second and final death, not again…

Apophismon no longer made any noise; it just twitched in its pitiful attempts of retaliation. ExVeemon could no longer see or hear any of that. He squeezed his eyes shut and held tightly onto Angewomon's floating body, pains, both physical and mental, drove to him to tears.

"…I'm here now…" ExVeemon muttered hopelessly, he could feel the strengthening of the aura as Angewomon fed voraciously upon Apophismon's body, "After all this time…"

"I promised…" His voice was so insignificant, drowned out by so many sounds all around him, the wailing of the dead digimons, the crackling of the flames burning. Slowly, his hopes diminished.

"I'm so sorry…" He won't last much longer, ExVeemon knew that. He had failed again, but it hurt him even more to realise just how little he had done and fought, to help Veemon and Angewomon. He cried, but why would he care now, "… I'm..."

Apophismon's twitching became even weaker…

Despair completely washed over him, ExVeemon stopped struggling for his life, yet he did not let go of his grasp around Angewomon. If this is the end, he would spend it next to the one he loved, even if it is only a revenant of the past.

He felt tears.

But…

Those tears weren't his.

With a crisp "crack", the metal helmet shattered into thousands pieces.

And all feelings stopped together.

The shards showered ExVeemon, he opened his weary eyes.

The sky, the earth and everything before, they were gone. It was white; an endless expanse of colourless light. It smothered all sounds and vision, the smell and taste of gore and rot, even the nausea and pain were washed away from ExVeemon's body.

But he felt something thing: the warm droplets of tears as they fell onto his face, and the cold husk of a being held tight in his arms.

His body frozen, ExVeemon could only slowly lift his head and look in the direction of the tears. He saw a familiar pair of clear blue eyes. The eyes he once remembered as warm and kind, now they were clouded and dazed, the only light left inside them were that of glistening tears.

He did not dare speak a single word, it was all so surreal, could it be a dream? _No matter_, he thought, if it was a dream, then don't let it be disturbed.

He felt a hand brush lightly against his face, the touch colder than ice. ExVeemon stared into Angewomon's eyes, it was all his body allowed him to do.

Angewomon trembled, with a shudder, her levitation stopped and her body fell limply from midair.

The light vanished abruptly, the sudden return of senses sent ExVeemon's body stumbling forward, nearly knocking him down.

The aura was gone, even though the pain lingered in his body. ExVeemon cradled Angewomon in his arms; relief alone could not describe his feelings of that moment. _This is not a dream_, he thought almost desperately. He had seen her again; he had finally seen her again…

The overwhelming sense of dread still did not come to pass; ExVeemon opened his eyes and looked across at the source of the noise: Apophismon had already begun recovering.

"This is not you, is it…?" A frail voice spoke, "The illusions will never stop… no matter, they can't fool me, they are all dead…"

"Hey…" ExVeemon instantly turned towards Angewomon, her head was resting on his shoulder, her blonde hair a screen, completely obscuring her face.

"They are not even dead… vile remains, debris, revenants…"

"It is me…" ExVeemon shook her gently and interrupted her mad ramblings, "How long has it been? We promised that we would both stay alive to find each other again, didn't we?"

"…"

"Well, it looks like we both failed that." ExVeemon let out a dry chuckle, from the corner of his eyes; he saw that Apophismon was already beginning to stand back up.

"…"

"It's ok, it's over." ExVeemon closed his eyes and held Angewomon closer, "I broke my promise, but this time, I swear, I will never leave you again."

Angewomon suddenly shifted in his arms and returned the embrace, ExVeemon looked surprised, but relieved nevertheless as she cried loudly against his shoulder.

"… I waited for you…" Angewomon moved with much difficulty, she turned her head to face ExVeemon and gazed back at him. Her voice was ever so quiet.

"After all that had happened, why did you choose to do this?" ExVeemon spoke endearingly, he saw a faint smile across Angewomon's face, but that only served to sadden him more. "Wouldn't it have been better to forget? To be reborn and start anew?"

"I asked you this before, remember?" Angewomon struggled slightly and sat up, "If you were me, would you have done differently?"

The sentence echoed in his head, he had heard the question before, and he will answer the same he did last time, "No… I would have done the same for you."

Her smile widened, she looked happy, even if just for a moment.

However, the moment did not last. "I'm sorry… but I cannot keep your promise for you." Angewomon lowered her head, distraught once again, "I know what I have become, and I know what I have done…"

Angewomon waited for a reply, but she received none. She only felt ExVeemon hold her tighter. "Don't you understand? I don't belong here anymore."

Hearing no response, Angewomon turned to face him. ExVeemon was smiling too, the content yet melancholic smile she remembered, and longed to see again. His answer was: "Neither do I."

A deep rumbling noise came from not far besides them. They both turned to look as Apophismon stood back onto its four limbs. Data streamed forth from inside of the dragon's body, they enveloped its broken wing, seeping into the cracks and wounds, each cluster of data sewing back together the twisted flesh and bones. The whole process took no more than a few seconds, and already it was flapping its wings, eager to kill.

"So that's…" Angewomon asked but did not finish her sentence; there was a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"Yes, it is him." ExVeemon replied with much guilt, "I am so sorry, I could not protect him."

"What will happen? What are they planning?"

"Their wish is simple: power. They will take his power for themselves, as to what next, that's anyone's guess."

Angewomon did not know how to respond, why were their reunions always so ill-timed? "So it's hopeless?" The one sentence she had never thought herself to ever say.

"No it's not." Angewomon was surprised to see ExVeemon still smiling; his voice was neither sorrowful nor desperate, his eyes reassured her of his confidence, "Because unlike we once were, he is not alone."

Apophismon took flight. It bellowed a vengeful roar, its body once again burst into flames, hovering in midair as if a living ball of bright blue fire.

"I have seen what he had done. What he had done together with those he follow. Friendship is something we never had the chance to experience; yet, it's not hard to understand." The growing noise in the background interrupted ExVeemon for a few seconds, "I trust them, they will help him, and whatever the consequence may be, they will not allow him to suffer. This, I have no doubt."

"But what of us? We've only just seen each other again..." Angewomon replied regretfully, "We've finally found each other; yet, we will soon perish…"

"No." ExVeemon gazed firmly into her eyes; there was no longer any trace of doubt or fear in his voice. "Death never was the end."

Apophismon dived down towards the two, its claws blazing and ready.

Angewomon and ExVeemon locked each other in their embrace; words are longer needed and can no longer express their feelings. Once death is fully accepted, there is no fear or regret. Perhaps now, at the final moment of it all, ExVeemon had realized this. The only comforts in their lives were being with each other, yet, that time was tragically short. The suffering they have endured for millenniums, the bloodshed that they could not seem to escape. These were the prices for their final meeting, for these precious few minutes.

These moments, however fleeting, are the most cherished things they could ever have hoped to possess. Past and future no longer mattered. As death itself mercilessly approached, the two shared one, final kiss.

Davis gasped as the humongous cloud of black smoke rose in the distance. The smoke cloud split into many tendrils, they flew and encircled Apophismon, before being absorbed into its body one by one.

"The preparation is complete. It was even quicker than we had expected." The robed being spoke, "Depart, we must begin quickly."

From beneath their feet, countless black orbs rose from the ground. The strange orbs were glowing, but it did not produce light, it seemed to have absorbed the light and darkened the area around them. The orbs floated into the air before they were all collected by the nine together.

"What are they doing?" Davis asked anxiously.

"They are gathering data, these are the data they have collected through killing so many others." Gennai explained, sounding as if in deep thought.

"What? But look at how many of them there are!"

Gennai was silent, he did not answer. Indeed, the orbs were so numerous they looked like black snow. The creatures were quickly growing in power, it became apparent that the only reason any of the children are still alive right now is because the Nine did not want to waste this data, they knew that they were going to need all of it for this fight against Apophismon.

"Stop them! Do something!" Davis was growing more desperate.

"Why are you doing this? Just what are you hoping to achieve?" Gennai questioned the robed beings; everything was no longer in their control.

"Absolute power." The nine responded in unison, "With this power, we will conquer all else, the reality of this world will bend at our will. We will only grow as we destroy. The digital world, the human world, and any other beyond; we have been waiting for far too long."

"…and then what?"

"What is your question?"

"When you have murdered and massacred everything in this existence, when the world itself turns into the empty wasteland that you desire so greatly, what next?"

"…"

"When you have destroyed everything, when all is gone. What will you do? Eternally wandering in your pointless existences, seeking more power?" Gennai looked confident, "Don't you realise, how foolish and empty your goals are? Your thirst for power stopped you from seeing that your desires mean nothing. Naive creatures, you don't even know what satisfaction is, do you?"

"Are you attempting to waste our time?"

"You still don't understand? I guess this is the reason why you weren't destroyed sooner, because your plans could never have succeeded to begin with."

"What is your point?"

"You killed others to absorb their data, is that not so? Well, then I guess you have kept all those you killed alive during all this time."

"They are now nothing but corrupt data, used as a raw source of power. These data has no will."

"No, not anymore. But they _did_. No one wants to be killed; slaughtering others to assimilate them is a sacrilege against the Digi-world's creation. Your war all those millenniums ago, it blinded all those involved. They were overcome by the rapid cycles of death and rebirth, jaded with bloodlust, they murdered without a second thought."

"You speak as if we are not aware of this?"

But Gennai continued, "But they were still _alive_, still beings created by this world. Beneath the body that only desired to kill and destroy, they have all always wanted the same thing: to live."

From beneath their feet, there came a sound. Not a song, yet the melody was unmistakable. The black orbs continued to pour into the air, as they flew, tiny specks of light began glittering on the ground. The light intensified, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. Then, with a burst of white, a flurry of flickering lights jumped towards the sky.

"You never should have existed in the first place." Gennai spoke as the flickering lights were just as quickly absorbed by the Nine, "You are no digimon, you are just a cluster of corrupt data. You revel in and feed on death, but in doing so leave behind the life that keeps the balance."

Their figures blurred; the lights began negating their data. The Nine twitched their heads; there was an unseen confusion in their expression. "Why?" They asked.

"Why?" Gennai paused to think, "Because try as you may, you will never be able to destroy life itself. No matter how much brainwashing or insanity you cause, you will never be able to take away one's desire to live. However, after all this time, you will not be able to understand this."

The process continued, but the nine did not struggle. They did not see this coming, and they cannot comprehend why. The lights eagerly entered their bodies, mixing with the dark data within, dissolving together and vanished. "What will happen now?" They asked again.

"The data is neutralising, they will return to the world, to restore what you took from them. Who knows? Perhaps now, you too will finally know rest, and find the peace you do not deserve."

There was no anger, no hatred or denial coming from the creatures. They have degenerated so much they no longer even have those feelings. If anything, there was a slight disappointment. After their eternity worth of effort and turmoil, now, they still could become nothing more than dust to the wind.

"They are gone…" Davis exclaimed in disbelief, the whole sequence went far quicker than he would have thought.

"Look!" Gatomon shouted, pointing away from them. She had been keeping an eye on Apophismon during the entire event; their problems were far from over, "He's coming for us!"

The dragon had flown high into the air and now it dived for the group.

"Everyone, spread out! Divert his attention!" Seeing as Davis was not prepared to move, Gennai grabbed hold of his wrist and physically dragged him away.

Apophismon opened its massive jaws and breathed down a jet of flames upon the party. The group had predicted this move and hurried out of the way. They saw the flash behind them, followed quickly by the searing heat wave. Everyone scattered, increasing the distance between each other and readied for another attack.

Apophismon glided above the group, as if deciding which one of them shall be its first kill. It commenced several ferocious attacks, swooping down to grab, tear and burn everyone below. However, the reflexes and speed of the digimons saved both them and their digi-destined from a fiery death. Apophismon was enraged, it had realised that diverting his attention on each individual would only result in the two wearing down each other's stamina. Apophismon was becoming increasingly frustrated. Confident it could take all of them down at once, the dragon landed in the midst of the entire group.

"What are we going to do?" Davis asked Gennai, still anxious and helpless, "What are we going to do?" He repeated after hearing no reply.

"I don't know." Gennai replied hastily, "Try and restrain him! But be careful!" He then shouted to the group.

"Restrain him? You've got to be kidding!" Matt shouted back, he was right. There was no way any conventional attack is going to be of any effect here.

Apophismon roared, it swung its body around and swiped at the group with its mighty tail. The digi-destined prepared for more attacks, flames and beams flew one way and another, Apophismon swiped its vicious claws at any who came within close range. They had to put full attention into the fight just to stay alive.

Davis watched amidst the chaos, there was no way to communicate with anyone given the current circumstances. _At this rate, it will be us who tires out first_. He thought, Davis gripped and felted something hard in his hand. He looked down; it was the digi-vice that still lay in his palm.

"VEEMON!"

The scream came, it was Gatomon.

"Veemon!" Gatomon shouted again, she did not hope for any result, but she knew there was nothing else they could do, "Listen to me!"

Apophismon closed its mouth and cut off the beam that was chasing Sora through the sky. It turned its head and looked at the source of the noise: the tiny white cat that was no bigger than one of its talons.

"You can hear me, can't you?" Gatomon continued speaking, she raised her voice and sounded stern, but she could not stop her body from trembling with fear, "You are still there!"

Apophismon turned fully towards Kari and Gatomon and took a step towards them, in response, they took a step back. "Then you've got to know me… know us."

Without a warning, Davis dashed off and sprinted towards Apophismon. Gennai was caught off guard, he quickly extended an arm to try and grab Davis, but he could not reach in time.

"Stop this, stop this now!" Gatomon continued to speak, tears of both fear and sadness began welling in her eyes, "You are not a monster! You know you are better than this!"

Apophismon had not noticed Davis; it just took another step towards Gatomon. But this time, she did not take a step back. Davis tried harder, he ran even faster, his feet beating the earth beneath him, kicking dust up in clouds. The only thing on his mind at this moment, was to reach Veemon.

Apophismon lowered its head and let out a deep bellow at Gatomon. She was wrong, Veemon was not there, Gatomon had merely caught its attention.

Davis held the digi-vice so tight he was afraid he would crush it. But he did not have the time to worry, he ran.

Apophismon snapped its jaws down towards Gatomon and Kari. Gatomon hesitated; she was about attempt a dodge, but was it even worth a try? There was no way she could escape in time.

Davis leaped the final few steps and jumped up towards Apophismon, he extended his right arm with the digi-vice firmly in hand. He had reached it!

Apophismon's instincts alarmed it of the danger to its side; it withdrew its head within a second's notice, and reflexively, swiped its claw to its right.

Silence.

Silence that hushed even the breath of people. There was only one sound: the dripping of blood from a crimson stained claw.

Apophismon looked down at its foreleg, stunned. It had caught Davis; its talon impaled him right through the torso.

Davis panted heavily and stared into Apophismon's eyes. He had pushed the digi-vice firmly into Apophismon's chest, engraving it in its scales. He coughed up blood, but smiled. An iris returned to the dragon's eyes, its icy blue colour slowly turned murky and brown.

"Welcome… back…"

Davis lowered his head with a tired breath.

Apophismon jerked back and let out a pained cry. It dropped Davis's body and clutched onto its chest, the digi-vice shone radiantly in its claws.

**The Mind:**

"ARRRGGHH!" Veemon clutched his head with both hands and fell onto the invisible floor, he screamed, for more reasons than just pain.

"Get up! GET UP! We are not done! We are almost there!" The voice rang in his head, sharp and dominating.

"No! No! Don't speak to me!" Thoughts, flashes… it all went through Veemon's mind at once. So many memories, events, everything. It brought a feeling, no… it brought all feelings back, Veemon is here, he knows that now, he feels that now.

"They are gone! They are dead! We are so close! Why are you doing this? Kill them! They are no match for us!"

"SHUT UP!" Veemon jolted upright and looked around him, he felt tears, but he could think of nothing. What did he just…

The moment of clarity came all too quickly; he looked once more around at what he thought was total darkness. But instead, he saw faces, familiar faces. And on the ground beneath him, was a body, bloodied and broken.

Veemon froze.

"Yes, we've made progress. But that's only one of them, there are still quite a few more to go." From behind him, it spoke.

His body twitched. Disbelief, confusion, revulsion, hatred, sorrow, anger… the thoughts passed through his head, and more tears flowed down his cheeks unstopped.

Veemon let out a blood curdling scream; he spun around and sent his fist into whatever was standing behind him. He heard a loud crack, and blood trickled down his hand. It was a Veemon standing there; he was staring into a mirror, and the glass, their barrier.

"Why do you let such trivialities interrupt progress? Why do you let these foul emotions hinder your potential? Don't you see? _That _is the cause of all your pains, all your regrets and suffering. You rely on inferior beings as support? Why degrade yourself so?"

Veemon was grief-struck, memories continued to flood his mind, yet, realising what he had just done, he was fuelled by only anger.

"The way to end all this is right before you! It is so easy, Veemon! We will be complete and no one will ever hurt us again!"

"Shut it…"

The reflection seemed shocked.

Veemon raised his fist and punched the barrier again; blood seeped from his bleeding knuckles into the widening cracks.

"You are blind! Love, friendship, those words are meaningless!" The reflection became desperate, it raised its voice, "Do you think I don't understand what they are? They are nothing but an excuse of a bond between those lowly creatures that we can break like toys! Why are you so foolish? Why do you give up all of what we could be for the sake of your _pitiful_ 'friends'?"

Veemon continued to pound at the barrier with both fists, the pain did nothing to stop him. "No, you are the foolish one… and you are foolish because you don't even realise it."

There was no reply.

"Life is more than just pain and remorse, yet it is the only part you can see!" Veemon raised his voice as his attacks became even more ferocious, "Love? Friendship? You never understood what those feelings are and you _never will_!"

His fist made contact, cracking the barrier further and adding yet another splash of red. He panted; the reflection stared at him, frozen and emotionless.

"Yet, you seek to destroy all of that?" There was a mocking smirk in the corner of Veemon's face, he raised his fist one more time, "For that, _you_ are the pitiful one."

Veemon brought his fist down and struck into the centre of the barrier; the wall cracked into a cascade of shards and flew away. His fist penetrated the mirage, tearing its twisted image into countless shreds.

…

Veemon held Davis's body in his arms, it only occurred to him now how thin and worn out he had looked.

Everyone stood around the two of them in a ring, silent. Gatomon took a few steps forward, but did not go any closer.

Regret cannot describe what Veemon was feeling, however, there was one last thing Veemon could give to him as a parting gift.

Veemon pressed both of his hands onto Davis's body, across the massive gash cut into his torso. A stream of data flowed out of his palm; they spilled into the wound and let out a warm glow. The data sewn back together the tissues and muscle, rejuvenating the organs and lost blood. As colour returned to Davis's body, everyone expressed their immense relief and joy.

"Veemon?" Davis asked weakly, it took a moment for him to recover, but there were already tears in his eyes, "Haha, Veemon! You are back!"

Gatomon sighed contently and rushed forward; she smiled as Veemon turned to face her and hugged him tightly.

She did not feel anything.

Gatomon opened her eyes: she had passed right through Veemon.

Veemon stood up and faced everyone, "I'm sorry…" he said.

"What…" Gatomon spoke in an almost whispering voice.

"The data has finally returned to where they belong, they will bring back the life they were owned to, and this time, allow them to start totally anew." Veemon spoke solemnly, "… I'm no exception…"

"No… that's not true!" Davis got up in an instant and grabbed for Veemon, only for his hand to stir up swarms of data from Veemon's body as it passed right through him. "No… this… this isn't…"

Veemon laid his hand on Davis's shoulder, even though he could not feel him, Veemon still gave him a warm hug. Davis tried his best to return it, but all he could do was weep in his own arms.

"I'm sorry…" Veemon repeated, he then spoke to the whole group, "Thank you, everyone, I could not have asked for a better time than what I had spent with you guys. Thank you for the effort you put in for me. I will never be able to repay you."

The digi-destined replied to him, everyone in their own way. These are the people Veemon had always known, they were his family. This life he has led, albeit filled with turmoil, has been one Veemon was satisfied in. To be with them in his final moments, Veemon was content.

As he walked in front of the tearful Gatomon, Veemon paused for several long seconds. He did not know what to say, he did not want to see Gatomon cry.

"But… we've only just…" She could not bear to look at him, but only stared at the floor as she cried. "I thought it was all over…"

"Gatomon." Kari spoke quietly from behind them, wiping away tears of her own, "Do you still remember that 'something' I told you about that you should give to Veemon as a present? I think… this is the time to see it."

Kari reached into a little bag at her side and took out a piece of paper; it was crumpled and creased, but still possible to see its contents.

Veemon examined it carefully: it was a photo.

It was a photo taken only a few months ago, yet it felt like an eternity away.

It was the photo taken by Jun, when they shared a cone full of ice-cream, when Gatomon licked the ice-cream off Veemon's nose, when they were sitting on that bench, on Davis's birthday, inside that theme park.

Seeing it, Veemon smiled, it finally brought down the tears he was trying to hold back. He tried to embrace Gatomon one last time, and kissed her.

"I love you."

Data began dissipating from Veemon's body like sand blown away by a gale; his visage became paler and more transparent.

"I guess it's time."

"I will find you!" Davis cried, "I will find you again! I promise!"

Veemon laughed heartily, "I do not doubt that a single bit."

Clouds drifted in the sky, it covered the moon behind its shroud, the only light of this eternal night. The earth began crumbling beneath their feet, the entire area blurred and distorted, this world was dissolving.

Veemon walked away from the group, he turned and gave them one final look, the simple gaze that expressed everything, his joy, gratitude and contentment better than any words ever could.

"Goodbye…"

* * *

(Remember the photo? And the lights from Chapter 17?)

**Wow! I can't believe it! Its over! IT'S ALL OVER! THIS TOOK ME MORE THAN A YEAR!**

Honestly, I didn't expect myself to be able to do it, I really didn't, and as you can see by the gaps in updates, I nearly failed. But guess what the reason I actually managed to succeed is?

_You guys._

That's right! It's you people who review, watch and fav my story! I always try to PM those who review to thank them for their time, so if you don't have an account, then allow me say this to ALL of you here.

**Thank you very much!**

If not for the reviews (over 100? _Seriously_?) you have given me, I never would have had to motivation and determination to finish this. My fic is nothing special, it is cliché and very corny, as befitting of an amateur writer. Yet for some reason, you guys liked it and reviewed, and it is because of that my rather ambitious "first ever fic" managed to successfully end.

As the author, I just wanted to let all of you know how much I appreciate this!

**So, until another time!**

* * *

Uh… I'm highly pleased with the number of reviews as it is, so I won't be greedy and ask for more, haha. But if you feel like it, you might as well tell me which one of the nine was your favourite, here is the list.

Bravery & Fear (Blades of Fear)

Friendship & Enmity (Sting of Enmity)

Love & Hatred (Inferno of Hatred)

Sincerity & Deceit (Shadow of Deceit)

Knowledge & Ignorance (Venom of Ignorance)

Reliability & Treachery (Tendrils of Treachery)

Hope & Despair (Melody of Despair)

Light & Darkness (Thorns of Darkness)

Kindness & Cruelty (Claws of Cruelty)


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